Wash It Away (But It Comes Back Stronger)
by Ikedawg43
Summary: COMPLETE. Jaune takes a page out of Qrow's book, "Dealing With Your Problems." When that leads to an unexpected confrontation, Jaune is suddenly struck with an idea: give Destiny the middle finger. Fighting against himself and his friends, Jaune prepares to make a great sacrifice and tosses his hat into a very dangerous ring. Luck, or someone else, at least, is on his side.
1. Wash It All Away

_Story Information: This story was written as a one-shot after Volume 4 of RWBY finished. It was then expanded into a full story and was completed before the start of Volume 5. This means that everything was written with the knowledge of the show up through Volume 4, so things like Renora are already established, but the knowledge that Ozpin is the wizard and has always escaped death were not known._

 _Beyond that, most details ended up being close enough. This note is here to let you, the reader, know what context the story is written in._

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 **Author's Note: This story began as a one-shot, then a two-shot, and from there was expanded into a full story. If you see this note, that means that I have gone back and revised all of the author's notes as well as unified my headers and formatting. Enjoy.**

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Prologue

(Jaune's POV)

As I excused myself from the room, I walked outside to find it raining. It was just a light rain, not one of those downpours that makes everything seem gloomy, but it still fit the mood. Ren and Nora had fallen asleep during the movie they picked out for us, and it was just…hard to watch it. It was some rom-com that Nora picked at random, and since she had won the sparring match earlier (handily), we had no choice but to comply. So with those two asleep on the couch, I was left to watch a movie about the hot but lonely girl who had a crush on the lovable loser, who was in turn clueless.

Yeah, that irony was not lost on me. I left about halfway through the movie, but decided to come back and watch the rest before I got out the door. I regretted coming back to watch it, though, because in the end everything works out well and they get together. But it's what didn't happen in the movie that hurt more.

There was no scene where the guy got slammed into a wall, no plots about cities being destroyed, no magical powers, and no one died.

And that's why I'm walking through the rain. I just need to clear my head, but every time I try I just bring up something new that bothers me.

Sadness over Pyrrha's death I pushed away only to dwell on all the times I never noticed how she felt. I pushed that away, and I my mind went to how distraught she was before her fight. As I pushed away dwelling on how I mishandled that situation, my mind made the connections between how I could have stopped her from fighting Cinder if I had handled things better earlier.

Heck, if I had noticed her anytime sooner and had actually built a relationship, would she have still been willing to push me away at the end?

Pushing these thoughts out of my head isn't working. I need a better way to deal with this, but after this long I still haven't found a solution.

As I looked up at a sign in front of me, a thought ran across my head: maybe I just need something _stronger_ to clear my mind.

The sign in front of me read: _Huntsmen and Huntresses! Show us your weapon and drinks are half-off!_

A bar. In all honesty, trying to drink this away is a terrible idea. I've never had alcohol before and would have no clue what I'm doing, not to mention I don't exactly know these streets well and couldn't get back. I don't even know what the drinking age here is, but if they have one it probably isn't 17.

Despite all that, I walked in determined to find out how much it would take to wash it all away.

A rainy Tuesday night did not translate into much foot traffic at this bar. It wasn't even specifically a bar, just a restaurant that had an independent bar built into it. There were some people off in a corner booth, but no one at the bar itself. I took a seat at the barstool and the bartender looked up from the glass he was cleaning.

"Your sign mentioned Huntsmen?" I asked.

"It does. You look pretty young for one. Where's your weapon?"

Thankfully, I don't like going anywhere without it strapped on, so I drew my sword and offered it to him.

"Ah, no thanks, that's all I need to see. What'll it be for you?"

"Whatever makes me forget what's wrong the fastest." I answer more somberly than I intended as I put my weapon up.

"That's not going to work very well, son." A voice from behind came, with its owner taking a seat next to me. "First time drinking?"

"Is it that obvious?" I asked, slightly discouraged for some reason.

"Yeah. Drinking alone isn't going to make you feel better until you black out; taking a nap is just as effective, without the potential for turning you into an alcoholic loser. If you want to drink to forget, you gotta be drinking with someone. Barny…" he said, now addressing the bartender, "…yeah, good to be back here too. Just give me a bottle of vodka, and two glasses."

"Two glasses?" I asked, suspecting that the second was for me.

"Yup. Looks like you're not drinking alone tonight." The man said as the bottle and glasses were placed on the counter in front of us. He opened it and poured two shots. "So, what exactly are you trying to forget?"

I didn't respond right away. I picked up the shot glass and stared at it for a moment before shrugging and attempting a shot.

"Oh god, that's terrible." I wheezed out with a cough.

The man just laughed and refilled our glasses. As he did so (and as I fought off the last shot I took), I took a moment to examine him. He was taller than me by about an inch, and all around was built about the same as me, but with no doubts that he was significantly stronger than I was. As I looked down, I realized that he was carrying a weapon—he was a Huntsman. He carried two swords, one on each hip, and on his back he had a round shield.

A round shield, not unlike how Pyrrha had a round shield, although his was a full circle and did not have a 'bite' out of it.

As soon as his shield reminded me of Pyrrha, I reached out for my shot glass and quickly downed its contents, much to the protest of my mouth and throat.

"Hey now, that's more like it!" The man teased with a genuine, hearty laugh followed by him taking his next shot. He began refilling the glasses. "So, you're pretty young for a Huntsman, and very young for a Huntsman in need of a cleared head…"

I sat there, staring at my glass and wondering how long it would be before these things kicked in. The last shot had taken my mind off of Pyrrha, but at the expense of sucking just as much as the first one.

"Yeah. I'm not certain whether I'm technically allowed to be called a full Huntsman yet. I was at Beacon…" I answered quietly.

"That's…that's a damn shame, what happened there." He answered with a softened gaze before turning his eyes to his glass. After a few moments he picked it up and downed it. "I'm guessing that's how you ended up here? The bar, I mean…"

I went ahead and matched him by drinking my own shot. It still sucked, but I think I'm starting to numb to it.

"Yeah. My team—what remains of it—we teamed up with another student and came here because that's where they think the next attack is most likely."

Suddenly, I started to feel the effects of my shots coming on strong, and while it panicked me initially I decided not to fight it. The opposite, actually, as I was still very much planning on drinking till I blacked out.

"I'm…sorry to hear that. My wife and I were glued to the TV set just before the CCT went down."

That sounded familiar, and I couldn't think of why. He has a wife? That's not it. CCT? I mean it went down but that isn't what feels familiar. TV? What was the last thing I saw on TV? It's been a while since I've gotten to…

 _Oh_. The last program on TV was the Vytal Festival. The very last fight before everything went to hell was…

I took my next shot.

 _Pyrrha V. Penny_

I barely noticed my new friend take a shot with me.

I glanced back at him, hoping to find some detail to focus on to distract me. Instead, I found I couldn't focus on anything and only really saw the colors of his outfit and weapons. His weapons…they were…they had that orange-ish bronze tint to them, just like…

 _Pyrrha's_.

My mind started racing—hazily, now—to find any connections, but fell short. Pyrrha is from Mistral, right? Maybe that's just the handiwork of a popular blacksmith. P-Money was… _hell, did I really just think 'P-Money'?_...she was semi-famous here and even had that cereal contract. She probably had her weapons like…super top notch. So this guy probably is a good Huntsman to afford that too, right?

"I need another drink." I mumbled as I reached for the shot glass.

"It's your teammate, isn't it? You said what remains of your team earlier. Who did you lose?" He asked while taking a shot to keep up with me.

"Everyone says…they say it isn't my fault. And…it's not. But…if I—I could have—there are so many things I could have done to change it. She didn't have to die."

"Tell me about her, then. What happened?" He asked while reaching over to refill my glass.

I'm not certain how talking about this is supposed to help me forget it, but I'm also no expert at drinking, so…

"She was just…she was better than us all, and she was just so…nice. And shy, and humble, and gorgeous, and…she deserved a statue just for who she was, not to mention the fact she was a badass."

"HA. Sounds like my wife, actually." He responded cheerfully, but also quiet enough as to not interrupt my chain of thought.

"Then you've got me, the bumbling idiot who can't fight and…shhhh, don't tell anyone…cheated my way into Beacon. The lovable loser, minus the lovable part. So I spend our whole like first semester chasing after some…rich girl who's not even like half of _her_ and the whole time I'm too damn stupid to see how much _she_ likes me."

I took my next shot, and he took one to keep up, although it wasn't having nearly the effect on him as it was on me.

"Ah. Now you sound like me…" He mumbled softly.

"Badass queen of the school, undefeated in sparring, and she's too shy to tell me—like, _literally_ the worst guy there—how she felt. And even though she spent time every night helping me train without asking for any favors and always supporting me, I still didn't have a clue. So it takes her a year to drop a hint so big it gets through my skull, and like an idiot I sat on that info…kinda because I was shocked and also I had no clue what to do…for a little while."

I took another shot. He kept up again.

"So during the Festival…she's really distant and upset and I…I tried to help her out and somehow ended up with her napping on my shoulder, suddenly aware that I now have like the highest tier girlfriend possible."

"So you still didn't know until then?" He asked, semi-incredulously.

"No-nope! So she wakes up and apparently has an exi…existen…some crisis thing…"

"Existential?"

"That's it! Exi-whatsit crisis. So she turns to me—like, the worst person to ask for advice, but also the crush she had finally hooked—and asks like theoretical questions and…well, I didn't know better and just wanted to sound good, so I-I just said, like, that nothing should hold her back. Sounds pretty smart, right?"

I took my shot while waiting for his answer.

"I guess so. Depends on what's holding her back…"

" _F*cking exactly_! Turns out, in this situation, the goofy blonde idiot that she had desired—wait, that sounds intense—wanted for a year and like finally had gotten through to…that's me…was what was holding her back."

"That's not good."  
"No-nope. So she slams me into a wall—which hurt like hell, by the way—and runs off. So later during the attack on Beacon—oh yeah, all of this happened that day—after some magical bullshit and chaos, I'm just completely confused and she says she has to go back and fight the magical powers evil lady, and I'm all like 'no that's a bad idea you'll die you should do tha'—and she cuts me off by kissing me."

I reached out for another shot, my hand shaking. I'm not certain whether it's from the story or from the shots. Probably both.

"Oh, that's not a good sign, is it?" He asked quietly.

"Nope. So while my mind stops working for a few seconds—and this wasn't a short kiss, this was a long, passionate _goodbye kiss_ —she pulls away and shoves me in a rocket locker so I can't stop her."

A long pause hung in the conversation, with the only sound being me downing yet another shot.

"So she goes and dies for no reason, and I was the one who convinced her to leave me to do it. How do I not feel guilty about that? The world would be a better place if it was me that had…" I trailed off, not certain if I was able to finish that sentence.

"Hey now, there's never any reason for that line of thinking. I think…you've had enough for one night, kid. You know how to get back from here?"

"No-no-not at a-all."

"Well come on, I've got a bed you can stay the night on. I'm sure the Mrs. won't be _too_ mad if I bring home some drunk again…"

We began the long walk back to wherever we were going. Really, he did all the walking and supported most of my weight as I attempted to walk back as well. To be honest, I don't remember anything that happened after leaving the bar.

As we walked in the front door, his wife was waiting.

"You know, you're actually earlier than usual—oh look, you've brought home another drunk. I swear, this is the first time I've let you go out in a month and this is what you do?"

"Honey, calm down."  
"Don't honey calm down me. How old is he? Did you get a kid drunk?"

"He's a Huntsman dear. He was at Beacon…"

She went quiet and her hand covered her mouth softly.

"Oh. Did he know our little girl? Any news?" She asked hopefully.

"I didn't have the heart to interrupt and ask. Kid's had a rough time; he's got a story that'll break your heart if you can get him to tell it again in the morning. Poor soul didn't know how to cope and tried his first drops tonight."

"Well from the looks of it, it was more than just 'drops.'"

"He put a lot down too quickly, for sure. Where can we put him?"

"I think the couch would work…"

"We have a spare bedroom, you know. That works too, doesn't it?"

"That is NOT a 'spare' bedroom. It still is and always will be _her_ room."

"And do you think she would want this poor kid to have to sleep on the couch?"

The wife sighed slowly, thinking it through.

"No, she'd want him to be comfortable. Damn you for getting the better of me again, dear." She joked lightly.

"Anytime, honey." He responded while helping me up the stairs.

The next morning, when I woke up, I didn't have the slightest clue what was going on. I was in a strange bed with the sun shining in on me—and dammit, that light _hurt_ —and had no recollection of what happened the night before. I covered my head with a pillow to block out any light or noise, because for some reason I had a headache that could kill a Beowulf, and tried to think.

 _Oh. I tried drinking. This must be a hangover_.

I focused on the night before, and I could remember talking to someone at the bar. Someone large…a Huntsman? Yes, he was, that's right. Maybe that's where I am; his house?

Yes, that feels familiar. I spent the night talking about…well, about what I was trying to forget. Although, despite the hangover, I do feel somewhat better.

I sat up slowly and noticed there was a bottle of some sports drink sitting on my lap, with a note attached instructing me to drink it. I opened it as I stood up and starting walking around the room, inspecting my surroundings.

Something about this place felt familiar. It felt cozy and warm, like there was something about it that was comforting. I continued walking around the room trying to focus on details to figure out what it was.

And then I saw it. My heart sunk to my gut, and an overwhelming feeling of dread encompassed me. My mind started racing, covering the implications of what I had just uncovered. At the very least, it meant I was about to have a very awkward and sad conversation downstairs.

As it turns out, I know why this room feels familiar. I know whose room it is.

Sitting on the nightstand, there is a picture frame. It's one of those corny but sweet frames with "Family" written in cursive on it with heartwarming quotes around it. In the frame, there is a picture of three people—a family. On the right was the man I was drinking with last night, and on the left is the women I assumed to be his wife. In the middle was their daughter, smiling from ear to ear like there is no place she would rather be than with her parents.

It was their tall, gorgeous, red-haired, badass daughter.

 _Pyrrha Nikos_.


	2. Face Whats Left

**Author's Note: So I wrote the first chapter because it and one other, longer/deeper RWBY story were stuck in my head and I needed to jot one down to get it off my mind. While I loved the concept of the last chapter and really enjoyed writing it, I did not plan on writing a follow-up chapter because I could not think of something worth following it up with.**

 **So, after a few days of having it stuck in my head again and running down what might happen next, here is the follow up that, while it doesn't have the reveal like the last one, will probably get back at the heartstrings again.**

 **#IfPyrrhaDoesn'tUndieWeRiot**

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Prologue Pt. II

(Jaune's POV)

I…I am not certain that there are words to describe how gut-wrenchingly sick I feel right now. I have a massive hangover—my first, making it worse—that is threatening to make my head explode with every passing second. On top of that, I spilled my heart to some stranger last night, which had to have looked pathetic; certainly pathetic enough for him to take me home and let me sleep it off in his house. And to add to that, it just so happens that the man I rambled to about Pyrrha and night was her own freaking _father_.

And now, standing here with my head throbbing (have I mentioned I have a killer hangover yet?) I now have to decide how I am going to break it to Pyrrha's parents that she's dead. Worse still, after I tell them her father is going to _very quickly_ put two and two together from last night.

So I am going to have to break the news to my girlfriend's parents that she's dead the first time that I meet them. _If that isn't a recipe to get shot, I don't know what is_.

I sat back down on the bed and put my head in my hands, hoping it would alleviate some pain. Spoiler alert, it did not. I sat there thinking about what I should do next. There were a couple of options before me, none of which would be easy or pleasant. The only thing I decided for sure is that I _cannot_ avoid this; this is something I have to do as a team leader, as a friend, and as…and as her…

Running from this was not an option. The only thing I know for sure is that I have to be as thorough and responsible as I can, whatever that may mean.

A thought crossed my mind, though; that didn't mean I had to be alone. I reached for my scroll and was pleased to find that the inner-city communications were operational, and I opened up my messages.

It didn't take long at all to find what I was looking for: the Team JNPR group chat.

 _Hammer Queen: Jaune WHERE. ARE. YOU._

 _Hammer Queen: I swear if you did somethin stupid I'm breaking your legs._

 _Hammer Queen: THIS IS THE 30_ _TH_ _MESSAGE IVE SENT IN HERE WHAT HAPPENED JAUNE!?_

 _Ninja Bro: I'll make Nora promise not to harm you physically if you would at least respond. We're worried._

I made a mental note that I need to change Ren and Nora's contact names in case I ever need someone to call them from my scroll, but that wasn't important right now. I backed out of the messages and went to my files, where under a section of notes designated "Team Leader Only" I accessed files about my team that I was privy to solely because I'm the leader. There was a folder for each member, so I clicked on Pyrrha's and looked through till I found who was listed as her "emergency contacts." Surely enough, it was her parents, and part of the info had their address.

I copied the address and sent it in the group chat.

 _Me: I just sent you guys an address, can you get here as soon as possible? I'll explain everything._

It didn't take long for a response.

 _Hammer Queen: REALLY? THAT'S ALL WE GET!?_

 _Ninja Bro: We'll be there. Hope you're okay._

 _Ninja Bro: Nora this is urgent we are not stopping for pancakes._

 _Hammer Queen: …_

 _Hammer Queen: Jaune, is it_ that _urgent?!_

 _Me: Yes. Sorry._

I quickly put away my scroll before I had to deal with whatever tantrum Nora might throw. I opened my maps and did a quick search of the place we all had been staying, and it came back that is was a few blocks away. Only about a 10 minute walk, meaning I only had 10 mins to decide how I was going to do this.

After eight minutes where I had still made no progress (except for downing the sports drink that was supposed to help my _still pounding head_ ), I decided that whatever happened, I was not going to try to squirm out of responsibility. I'm not going to try to present myself as best I can or romanticize details, I'm just going to be as honest as I can. Surely, anyone capable of raising someone as amazing as Pyrrha Nikos deserves that much.

The doorbell rang, and my stomach flopped so hard I swear I could hear it; I also wanted to throw up, but couldn't fully tell if that was the stomach or the hangover.

I heard commotion downstairs, and I knew that I needed to be down there when the doors open. I would have a lot of explaining to do, and there's no time to start like the present. At least, that's what I told myself with each step where it felt as if I was trying to carry an entire piano over a bed of hot coals.

Mrs. Nikos got to the door just as I did.

"Who could that be, I wonder?" She asked cheerfully to no one in particular. I walked up behind her to make sure I would be there as the door opened. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mr. Nikos sitting at the table.

The door opened to reveal a very confused and concerned Ren, Nora, and a tagalong Ruby.

"That's my team here to get me. I…have something I need to tell you, actually. Would it be okay if they came inside while I did so?" I asked slowly, making sure to stay respectful.

Mrs. Nikos, cheery as ever if slightly confused, invited them right on in and they kinda gathered around me as I shuffled towards the kitchen where Mr. Nikos was seated, reading a paper. Mrs. Nikos had gone over past him to check on something.

"AH, LOOK! There you are, champ! How's the morning treating you?!" Mr. Nikos boomed across the room with a playful glee in his voice. I flinched at the sudden noise and my headache cranked up to 11.

"GAhhh! Are you trying to make this worse?" I hissed out quietly.

"OF COOOOURSE! I helped you get wasted for the first time, so it's up to me to be the responsible one and make sure your first hangover is so bad you don't ever do something as reckless as that again…" He responded with a chuckle.

"You went _DRINKING!?_ " Nora blurted out. Whether or not she intended to follow that up with bodily harm I'll never know, as Ren already had a grip around her stomach from behind, holding her back.

"What the heck, Jaune?" Ruby asked a little ticked, though her love for her uncle had dispositioned her to more easily dismiss that sort of thing.

Although Ren had held back Nora, the uncertain and distrusting look he gave me spoke volumes more than he ever would have needed to.

"I didn't…mean to. I just happened to turn up at a bar." I answer honestly, though unconvincingly.

"Heh. Qrow used to say that a lot." Ruby softly commented with a chuckle.

"Long story short, I got completely wasted with another Huntsman and had a loooong talk about why I there and…well…" I trailed off, knowing what had to come next.

I turned to face Mr. and Mrs. Nikos.

"Mr. and Mrs. Nikos, this is Ruby Rose. We're helping her with her mission while her team is scattered. This back here is Lie Ren, and this in front of him is Nora Valkyrie." I said slowly and deliberately, allowing my words to sink in for everyone around the room. Nora and Ren picked up on their last name, and the Nikos's perked up slightly too. "I never actually introduced myself. My name is Jaune Arc. We…we were your daughter's team."

I had never been so nervous in my life as I had before saying those words, and I had never been so uncertain of what would happen next either.

It dawned first on Mr. Nikos. The blood drained from his face and his grip on the table in front of him tightened. The more time went on, the further from reality he looked based on the look on his face. He was snapped out of it when his wife grabbed his hand.

"Honey you said he—that his—he…" she said, fumbling her words as her mind began processing too quickly. He must have given her a summary of what I had told him last night, meaning that it wouldn't be long before she realized Pyrrha was gone.

It did not take long. Before Mr. Nikos could even stand up, his wife had wrapped her arms around him and was crying into his shoulder. Not knowing what to do—and still battling the sadness myself—I just kinda bowed my head and stared at my feet, uncertain of anything at this point.

At some point, Ren's grip on Nora loosened, because I was distracted by a rush of wind. By the time I looked up, Nora had joined in the Nikos's group hug, followed soon by Ren. At that point, I felt drawn to do the same, and I think even Ruby joined somewhere on the side. For a few minutes, we were just one big, collective ball of sadness. And somewhere deep inside, it felt good, in a way. It felt like the beginning of closure.

Something else deep inside me told me it would be a long time to really get closure.

And…that's how the day started. A hangover and a group hug. That morphed into hours lost talking about our life at Beacon, from Landing Strategies (or lackthereof) to the beginning of the Vytal Festival. However, once on the topic, we had to completely cover it, meaning, well, I was about to have story time again. Only this time in front of my friends and Pyrrha's parents, and with no liquid courage.

I literally was shaking when everyone kinda trailed off and slowly started looking my way.

"I guess I should tell the end of the story, huh?" I asked quietly to no one in particular.

Before I started, a thought ran across my mind: even though I don't know every detail, I know there are a lot of things behind the curtain that were involved in Pyrrha's death, thanks to Qrow's talk with us.

"Before I start, I think that we should tell them _everything_ …" I announced to the confusion of the Nikos's. Ren and Nora arched their eyebrows and looked to each other for confirmation, but otherwise did not object. I looked to Ruby and we locked eyes, but after a few moments she closed hers and nodded slightly.

"What I'm going to tell you…I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone. I…I need you to swear it on Pyrrha's name." I choked out with much more difficulty than I anticipated.

Mr. and Mrs. Nikos were surprised, but at Mr. Nikos's insistence they went along with it. If nothing else, after what he saw of me last night he trusted I wouldn't take such a thing lightly.

"Long story short, apparently the tale of the Four Maidens in real, and it's been…hidden by the Headmasters. They believe that if the public knew, it would create panic and that would attract Grimm, so they keep it secret. Like in the stories, the Maidens are _extremely_ powerful—almost magical—and only can be transferred to young women. The last Fall Maiden was attacked and had half of her power stolen and…" I trailed off, uncertain of what to say next.

"And Professor Ozpin chose Pyrrha to inherit the other half of the power before it could also be stolen." Ruby filled in. I make eye contact with her and nodded to thank her for helping.

"And so she had to choose between fulfilling her destiny and being with her friends and…with…me. She'd been distracted the day of her big fight, so I tried to comfort her to help out…and she took a nap on my shoulder. When she woke up, she asked what she should do if…if something was holding her back from her destiny."

I paused, and no one moved or breathed a word. By now, I was already alternating between looking around the room and looking at the floor. Every time I made eye contact, I quickly looked back down out of nervousness. I realized that this was actually the first time I had told Ren and Nora this part of the story, so they were as glued to my words as everyone else.

"And that's when I told her that the Pyrrha I know…" _and love_ I thought to myself, but couldn't bear to add that to the story. It would be revisionist history, anyways. "…would never let herself be held back by anything."

"Oh. OH. Big mistake." Mr. Nikos echoed my words from last night, them finally making sense.

"Yeah. As luck would have it, at that very moment I was both a symbol of what was holding her back, and I was _literally_ what was holding her back. And in her already stressed out state, that answer was…heartbreaking to hear. When I tried to find out what I did wrong, she was…she flinched when I touched her shoulder and slammed me into the wall with her semblance. Before I could recover, she had ran away with tears in her eyes.

"The next time I saw her was in the arena." I finished slowly.

After a long pause, the silence was broken.

"That makes sense. She didn't look like herself in that fight, what with how blatantly she used her semblance at the end." Mrs. Nikos commented.

"I think…" Ruby started, "…that someone may have been using illusions on Pyrrha to make it seem worse than it was. The same thing happened to my sister when she…uhh…attacked Mercury."

"Oh? _That's_ your sister?" Mr. Nikos asked curiously.

"Yes, _that's_ my sister, and I'll have you know that I found Mercury walking around the arena the night that Beacon fell. He was in on it." Ruby defended sharply, maybe even a little too sharply. Mr. Nikos backed down with a soft chuckle and lightly apologized for his tone.

"So…that robot…what was that about?" Mrs. Nikos asked, getting us back on topic. I had kinda hoped that the conversation would die and no one would say a word for the rest of, well, forever. No such luck.

"Penny…" Ruby mumbled softly under her breath. "Her name was Penny Polindina. She…I don't know if I'm supposed to tell any of this…" She trailed off quietly.

"Well, with everything else we've talked about so far, I don't think secrets are really on the table anymore." Ren joked lightly, but reassuringly. No one objected to what he said, so Ruby decided to continue.

"Penny was the first…uh, robot? The first to ever actually have an aura, which means she…" Ruby trailed off, hoping someone would jump in. When no one did, I decided that I would; Ruby's has helped me out by jumping in a couple times, so it wouldn't hurt to return the favor.

"If she had an aura, then she was…alive, right?" I asked.

" _Was_." Ruby mumbled sadly. After a few moments, Ruby realized something and looked up quickly as if something she said was wrong. "I don't mean that—well, I don't think anyone blames Pyrrha for Penny's… _death_. I don't anyways, and I was…Penny's only friend."

Everyone was silent. It had been so long—and so much had happened—since Beacon that Penny's death had been pushed more towards the back of our minds, or at least team JN_R's minds. After a few moments, my team (myself included) starting affirming the last part of Ruby's statement.

"No, no one blamed her. Not even General Ironwood did when we saw him, and he had the most to lose…" Ren mused.

"Afterwards, she was so devastated she never even moved. If Jaune hadn't ran over when that Nevermore attacked, I…don't know what would have happened."

And just like that, the story falls back to me, right on track, too.

"What do you mean she never moved?" Mr. Nikos asked for clarification.

"She…well…Jaune, do you want to take this one…?" Ren struggled to find his words.

"She just…was in shock. Her eyes…I don't know if it was fear or guilt or panic, but her eyes couldn't have gotten bigger. It was just…too much for her to handle, that whole day. She was already confused from earlier and…killing someone didn't help."

Silence ran through the room once more. I stared down at my feet, Ren and Nora scanned the room (and Nora nuzzled closer to Ren in their seat), Ruby awkwardly darted her eyes back and forth, and the Nikos's…processed it all.

"So what happened next?"

I took a breath and prepared myself for what was coming. For what I needed to do.

"So, while everyone is fighting the Grimm and the White Fang, Pyrrha found Headmaster Ozpin and they…they were hurrying for something, and after what had happened you couldn't have dragged me away from her side. We got in Beacon Tower's elevator and went down, well below the school. And…then they…there was this machine, with another person in it—the Fall Maiden that was attacked. They told me to…Pyrrha got in and I think that was supposed to give her the powers Qrow talked about, but Cinder showed up and…killed the other Maiden. Ozpin told us to run and get help, and they were fighting before we got far."

Now, everyone was silent, eyes glued to me. I hadn't told Ren and Nora these parts, at least not in this much detail, and Ruby new next to nothing about this part.

"We got out and…and Pyrrha…" My voice hitched, and I could feel the tears ready to flood at any moment if I wasn't careful. "She said that she had to go back, that she could help. I told her…I tried to talk her out with everything in me! She wasn't listening to me and I was telling her why it wasn't a good idea and the next thing I knew…"

I stopped for a moment to examine myself. My voice had begun to get faster and defensive, my heart rate had spiked, and I was out of breath. I was getting worked up. I bowed my head and took a few breaths trying to calm myself down.

" _This is a lot harder sober_ …" I mumbled weakly.

"This is when she…interrupted you, isn't it?" Mr. Nikos asked. He clearly wasn't drunk enough (or maybe even at all) to have forgotten that last night.

I decided I would power through it; I had too, afterall.

"She didn't want to hear it, and she…cut me off. One moment I was sick to my stomach, scared that she would get herself killed, and the next moment the world stopped as…she kissed me."

For some reason, that was the hardest thing to say. It didn't matter that I was surrounded by those in the same position as me—surrounded by a family I trusted—because I felt like I was betraying them by telling them this. Like I was bragging about an award I had won, when really it was a story about me being too weak to stop her from dying.

After a few seconds, my curiosity and bravery (what was left of it) teamed up and I slowly looked up to scan the reactions around the room.

Nora was crushed into Ren's side, and Ren's face was so distant and sympathetic I felt strange looking at him. Ruby's mouth was slightly agape, and she had covered it with a cupped hand out of reflex; her arched eyebrows and glistening eyes told me that she wasn't mocking me, though.

Mr. Nikos had bowed his head—he already knows how this ends, and I imagine it is difficult to hear this and see me go through this—and was attending to his wife, who had tears streaming down eyes wider than dinner plates; she also had a death grip on her husband not unlike Nora had on Ren.

It wasn't until now that I realized how wet my own eyes were.

"The next thing…" I tried to start, but my voice failed me. I cleared my throat and shook my head, hoping I would shake something loose. "The next thing I knew, I was locked in a rocket locker with Pyrrha…Pyrrha telling me goodbye. That was the last time…"

I trailed off, but had no intention of _ever_ finishing that sentence.

"When I landed, I got a hold of Ruby and…she said she would do everything she could to stop her, but I knew…it couldn't have been enough."

Ruby, thank dust, took that as her cue to jump in.

"I had a friend, Weiss, use her glyphs to get me to the top of the tower. I…I got there just in time to see…I had to watch Cinder put an arrow through Pyrrha's heart."

Now Mrs. (and Mr.) Nikos were really crying, only keeping it together because otherwise they would miss some detail, and right now this is all they had left to hold on to.

"The next thing I knew, I woke up like a week later in my bed back home."

And then there was no talk for a few minutes. That's not to say that it was silent, because there were plenty of sniffles from all directions and laboring breathing from a couple.

After a while, there was a though building up inside me that if I didn't address, it might consume me.

"I've had six months to think on what I could have done differently. I could have been less blind at any time; I've asked myself so many times 'If I meant more to her, would she still have left me?' But that's thinking indirectly. No, if I…I was the one who told her to pursue her destiny without being held back. And then I wasn't able to hold her back. That's a mistake that…that's not something you ever get to live down." I pronounced solemnly.

No one addressed me, and I really didn't have the courage to look up now.

"Jaune, don't you have something of Pyrrha that you could show them? A recording they could see?" Ruby asked softly but knowingly.

My hand instinctively went to my pocket, where my scroll was. _How does she know about those_? Something deep down inside of me wanted to hide it, to deny that I had anything, to protect this and keep it to myself. _It's the only thing of her I have left to myself_.

But I told myself I wouldn't skip out of this. I was here to…I am here to own up to everything, and take all the blame that's fair. Hiding this doesn't fall in line with that.

That doesn't mean that handing over my scroll was easy. I sighed and resigned myself to obliging.

"She…had the idea to record some lessons for me to use whenever I needed them. I still train with them. I can…send you copies of them all, but you'll want to see this one." I pulled up _the one_ and jumped to about two minutes left in the video. "All you have to do is hit play, but please…wait till I'm not in the room. I can't…I know every word by heart; I can't bear to hear them again."

I handed them my scroll and went into a different room, with Ruby following me. Everyone gave me a puzzled look when I said what I did, but I didn't let it stop me from getting out of there.

I sat down on the first chair I found, and Ruby followed closely behind and closed the door.

 _I know this can be frustrating, and it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount, but…_

"How did you know about that?" I asked, somewhat angry, but too tired to do anything with it.

"I…couldn't sleep one night, and heard you training. I'm…sorry, if I shouldn't have…"

"No, you're…I needed a push." I answered solemly.

 _I want you to know that I'm proud of you._

"We never…I didn't know about…how she distracted you…" Ruby fumbled her words, uncertain of the terrain she was entering.

"I never told anyone, not yet at least. It's…it's not been pleasant to be me, Ruby. My whole life that's been true. I was born the only boy in a long line of successful, important warriors, and I couldn't even manifest an aura. Or fight. And yet, I… _found a way_ to get to Beacon, which should have been the biggest of my many mistakes. I should have been weeded out within a week…"

 _I've never met someone so determine to better themselves._

"Pyrrha is the only reason that never happened. I never was willing to believe that I was actually capable of anything, that I was worth anything. But…I could never look into Pyrrha's eyes and convince her of that. So…I went along with it. I didn't have a choice; she didn't give me a choice."

 _You've grown so much since we started training._

"She's gone, and all I have left is that video to keep me going, and a thought: _I_ am all that's left of her. _I'm_ her legacy. Everything I do from here on in can be attributed to her."

 _And I know this is just the beginning_.

"How crappy of a legacy can you leave, really? To have your entire remembrance entrusted into _my_ hands?"

"Jaune, she wouldn't have chosen anyone else…"

 _Jaune, I…I…_

"I know. That's why I'm not going to stop. I'm…I'm going to continue going, no matter what. I'll sacrifice everything, Ruby. _Everything_."

 _I want you to know that I'm just happy to be a part of your life._

"No matter what—or who—it is holding me back or stopping me, I won't be held back. Poetic, isn't it?"

 _I'll always be here for you, Jaune._

"Because she's worth more than that. I'll ensure it."


	3. One Month Later, One Month Before That

**Author's Note: I originally wrote the first chapter as a one-shot to get it off of my mind because I had that and a longer story idea stuck and didn't have the motivation to write the long one. I didn't think I had the motivation or inspiration for a second chapter for this one, buuuuuut that turned out false.**

 **So, if you enjoyed this and wanted to see it live on, congratulations. If you hated this and wake up wondering how you will ruin my writing, your job just got a lot longer…**

 **This first scene takes place approximately a month after the last two chapters, and there will be time skips each chapter. This period one month after the prologue will be considered the Present for this story.**

* * *

Present

(Ren's POV)

Sure, Ren may not talk very much, but there was never a time before this where he was truly _unable_ to say anything. Standing here in the observation room of an Atlas ship's Interrogation Room, Ren truly for the first time felt speechless.

Looking around the room, those around him were similarly baffled. To his far right, Qrow paced back and forth, manically checking texts and reviewing intel. He would stop every few moments to glare towards the one-way mirror, as if replenishing his anger and energy, before going back to his scroll. Hugged tightly into his side was Nora. Under normal circumstances, Ren would have popped under the crushing weight off what was a death-grip by Nora, but given the situation Ren had his arm around Nora pulling her closer, if that was even possible. At the moment, he wasn't sure which one of them was using the other as an anchor; he suspected if they let go they both might fall.

The room was uncomfortably warm, to the point where Qrow had to leave the room to find wherever the air conditioner controls were and set the Observation Room to a crisp 60°F. Over to Ren's left was the source of the heat: Yang. If Qrow was angry, then Yang was _pissed_. She never moved her eyes from the one-way mirror, meaning she never allowed her temper to cool like Qrow (somewhat) was. Ren had seen Yang get angry and activate her semblance, literally setting herself on fire briefly, but this was something else. Yang's semblance was not fully activated; it was as if she was set to a slow burn. Nothing was on fire (and nothing was being punched, yet) but the heat pulsating from Yang indicated that she should not be messed with at the moment.

She had been in this constant state of semi-rage for thirty minutes now.

On the other side of the glass, the door was unlocked and Winter Schnee walked in. Seeing Winter reminded Ren of the other Schnee in town—Weiss—and he pulled out his scroll to check in with her.

 _Ren: Anything?_

 _Ren: Your sister is about to start._

 _Weiss: The trail is cold. He slipped security somewhere in the middle of the city. Too large of an area to track._

Winter carried a folder and a remote, and sat down opposite of the suspect in question.

"I'll warn you I only have a few minutes before I let Qrow loose on you. Currently, I'm a little too busy to ensure that you aren't 'harmed' during interrogations. Ironwood was assassinated, leaving me in charge of all forces in the area until a new general can be appointed, so I am both in charge of this ship and in charge of tracking down his killer. On top of that, as Atlas's only representative in the area, I have to help deal with the attack on Mistral that's imminent. To add to that, we've just found out that our offline data server on this ship was accessed during the chaos earlier. And then…" Winter trailed off as she pointed the remote at a screen built into the wall, pressing a button that caused footage to play. "…there is this."

The footage we had all seen already, and it was hard to watch each time. As it played, I noticed small, thin wisps of smoke rise up from Yang.

"You were smart enough to shoot out the camera afterwards, which tells me a lot about your intentions. It also keeps me from knowing whether she is alive or dead. Tell me where she is; if Qrow gets in here and she's still missing, she won't be the only one to die. Even…even giving us a body is better than that."

"Jaune…" Winter began to appeal.

The video footage was from a security camera in the hangar, taken just after the sabotage and assassination of Ironwood. Most of the hangar had been emptied to send aid to what was thought to be a major attack on the city below, and there were no personnel anywhere in sight. The camera of the footage slowly panned back and forth, and would switch to a different view every few seconds; the cameras were just standard security for an area understood to be well populated and thus not in need of good surveillance.

One of the jumps in the video jumped to a view of Jaune and Ruby standing five feet apart, with Jaune's weapons on the ground and Ruby holding Crescent Rose, pointed at Jaune. However, he head was titled slightly away from Jaune, like something had caught her attention. As it shifted back to Jaune, he had a gun drawn and aimed at her. Two muzzle flashes were caught by the camera, followed closely by a blood splatter behind Ruby and her stumbling backwards. Then the camera feed changed.

"…Where is she, Jaune? Where is Ruby?"

Past

(Jaune's POV)

I crashed backwards to the ground, my feet having been taken out from under me again. My instincts kicked in, and I rolled backwards to a safe distance before standing to my feet.

"Remind me again why I keep doing this?" I asked sarcastically.

"Because your footwork sucks and you're tired of losing." My opponent responded cheekily.

"And remind me again why you're the one 'teaching' me?" I retorted.

"Because my little girl forgot to record a video on what to do when you get your ass kicked by a little girl." Mr. Nikos replied jokingly.

While it still stung to have it brought up, it did remind me what I was doing here: I'm here to get better. It's the least I can do to honor her, after all.

"LITTLE GIRL?!" Ruby shouted from another sparring court in between a round against Qrow. "I'll have you know I've maimed two people this year!"

"Three, if you count nearly getting me killed…" Qrow chimed in.

I brought my focus back to my opponent. I had assumed that, since he had a shield, he would, you know, fight with a shield. So far, it hasn't left his back as he has stuck to fighting with his twin swords. That was bad news for me, because that allowed him to fight fast and light; I am, and can fight against, neither of those.

"You know, Jaune, I'm starting to see why you struggle so much. You can't beat anyone faster than you…and almost everyone is faster than you."

"Gee, thanks. I hadn't figured that out from the other 30 times you knocked me over…"

"Well, let's make it 31 for good measure." He called out, resuming his battle stance.

I matched, shield up and sword held with the pommel behind my head and the tip of the blade peaking over my shield. I bent my knees and kept tension there as I slowly approached him.

He charged me, and swung the sword in his left hand across his body. I blocked it easily with my shield, since it was on that side. Since his body was crossed, he used the motion (or rather, he planned it out like this) to spin around and attack with his other hand on my weak side. I saw the move coming and was able to parry the move with my sword, interrupting his strike and forcing his blade to go down and skim the ground in front of me. It forced him to continue his spin, but without doing damage to me, meaning it left him open for a strike.

The move left my sword on the left side of my body, near my shield, so stepped in to plant my right foot and threw my strength behind a backhanded upper-diagonal swing with devastating implications…for the air he had been standing in. By the time the move had completed, he had already stepped back to avoid the swing and planted his foot in the ground. Once my blade was out of the way, my body was left exposed and he used his planted foot to charge forward and leap at me. I was unable to do anything as his hands (with swords still in them, but sticking out thankfully) collided with my shoulders, followed soon by his knees colliding into my chest.

Next thing I knew, I was knocked flat on my back with more force than usual, and Mr. Nikos had basically jumped onto me and rode me to the ground to combine our weights.

I still hadn't opened my eyes when he got off and stood up. I was sprawled out on the floor, groaning from the force of the slam and the ensuing headache it gave me.

"That's gonna be it for me today. I think you may have shattered my aura this time…" I groaned out, slowly shaking my head to ensure that my brain wasn't sloshing around.

"Oh, you big baby, you're fine. You've still got like 25% left…" he replied mockingly as he checked on his scroll. "If it helps, you got me down to 80% today; that's a new record."

"Well, my record against Pyrrha was 92%, but that's only because I tripped going down the stairs and took the whole team with me…"

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Mr. Nikos joked while holstering his swords. "Anyhow, that was a good move with that parry. Those kinds of maneuvers are extremely difficult under pressure. You just forgot to use your best weapon afterwords…"

"My best weapon?" I asked, confused. I'm pretty sure I only have one, and it's a sword. Not even a gun-sword, or a gun-scythe, or a gun-hammer, or a gun-gun. It's a sword-sword, but the other half is my shield that I was using.

"Your shield, you nitwit. You've got a massive hunk of metal that's really heavy and tiresome. You need to smack people with that thing! Make sure you're not the only one that its weighing down. Right there was a perfect chance to step forward and knock me down with the shield. Don't be afraid to charge forwards with that thing; you'll be surprised how hard it is to block a blow from a shield. Anyways, I'll see you all again tomorrow; I can't leave my post forever."

Everyone stopped their spars to wave or say bye. As we came to find out, Mr. Nikos holds a high rank in the city's defense forces. Under normal conditions, the city defenses consist of soldiers that maintain border defenses, reserve soldiers ready to step up in the case of Grimm attacks, patrols on watch over Mistral's land, and Huntsmen/Huntresses. While most of the Huntsmen are sent out on their own patrols to track down any large Grimm packs, all of the city militia's higher-ranking officers are pulled from the loyal Huntsmen ranks.

Mr. Nikos is the Huntsman in charge of all things concerning the city's safety from external threats, putting him in charge of the borders and standing guard. It also makes him one of the most powerful men in the city, although he has tended to take the most passive role in politics possible. And by that, I mean he literally ignores any political opportunities when he sees them. He's grown extremely popular with his soldiers and fellow Huntsmen, and has come to be known to the folks of Mistral as a good man who just wants his people safe. His popularity would easily challenge any political leader and create tension with anyone if it wasn't so widely known that he did not want anything to do with it.

All in all, he was a strong, honest, respected man with strong morals and the trust of those around him. The apple does not fall far from the tree, it would seem.

After sparring, I decided to wonder around. Mr. Nikos's status gave him unfettered access to all sorts of places, including Haven Academy's training facilities. I got in the elevator, intending to go back to down to ground level so I could walk out into the city. However, for some reason being in this elevator reminded me of the one back in Beacon that we rode down to…whatever that place was. Headmaster Ozpin's secret magical dungeon, I guess.

Since I was alone and bored, I decided to investigate to see if there was a button for a hidden lair on this panel. Shockingly, there was not. However, one thing did catch me eye: there was an old-looking keypad on the side of the panel, but none of the floors I had seen so far had any sort of security like that.

A few days ago, Mr. Nikos had invited team JN_R for a private tour of the school, and he took us behind one of the higher security doors that did require a key code. " _I don't think I have to worry about you three being security threats_ " he joked at the time, while letting us see him punch in his code. " _It's probably pretty obvious to you what I'd pick anyways_."

I punched in his code, just to see what would happen.

Seven. Nine. Seven. Seven. Four. Two. Six. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

I made a mental note to change my scroll's passcode to that same number.

To my surprise, after I punched in the code, a small panel below the floor numbers slowly slid open, revealing a hidden set of two floors and a second keypad. I thought about trying the code again…but I decided that I _really_ did not want to know what might happen if I set an alarm off.

I pushed the top of the two buttons, not really knowing what to expect. When the elevator stopped and the doors opened (silently, without the usual ding) I stepped out into what appeared to be a small library, filled with very old books. By small, I mean maybe two or three shelves. Really, it was just a small room with some bookshelves, and a door at the opposite end that was huge, and locked with an actual lock.

Two hours later, I stumbled out of that room, desperate to get some fresh air fast. I was not comfortable with the information I had uncovered, because it put me in a very awkward position that I didn't know what to do about.

When I finally reemerged, I found a quiet and private place to stop and think. A plan began to form in my head, though it was very vague and seemed impossible. But something in me…something said that it needed to be done. It had to be attempted. It was something worth dying for.

I pulled out my scroll and opened my texts with Ren.

"If I could do something that everyone else would think is terrible and stupid, but I believe it to be a good thing, should I do it?" Is what I typed out. I typed it slowly and deliberately, deleting and re-writing multiple portions as I struggled with the best way to phrase my dilemma.

But I never sent that text. I sat there, staring at it for the longest time, before deleting it all and putting my scrolling away.

I already knew the answer. It was, after all, a matter of destiny.

Just not mine.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Anytime a fic writer takes the time to spell out a pass code of some sort, chances are that it has a hidden meaning. Sometimes it is benign (like this time), sometimes it isn't (like later in this story)...**


	4. 3v1

**Author's Note: "Present" indicates that the story takes place one month after the events of the first two chapters (last chapter, the interrogation set-up was in present time). "Past" means one month prior to Present Time, or when the prologues took place.**

* * *

Past

(Jaune's POV)

Jaune was not certain of his ability to defeat any of team RNJR, so it should not come as a shock that he was terrified of fighting all three of them simultaneously.

 _Alright, calm down. You can't win this, so don't worry about it. You just need to put up a good fight, maybe disarm or knock down one of them. That's good enough for a victory, right?_

Try as much as I might, I cannot talk myself into feeling confident about this at all. I held my stance rigidly, shield up in front with my eyes barely able to see over it, sword held straight out behind me. The sword part was new, just a new stance I had decided to try out, and of course now is the first chance to put it to the test.

Directly in front of me is Nora, gripping the shaft of her hammer a grinning from ear to ear. To my right is Ren, standing straight up with his dual guns aimed at me. He was slowly trying to flank behind me, which would end this fight in a hurry. To my left Ruby, who had her scythe in a ready stance, with the bulk of the weapon behind her.

 _Alright, Jaune, THINK: what's everyone's first move going to be?_ It was the first question that I had learned from Mr. Nikos to ask when I was outnumbered. That, and to decide whether you want to stay on the attack the whole time (like Tyrian had done to us) or if you want to stay defensive the whole time (Pyrrha's go-to tactic in outmatched spars). It hadn't taken my long to decide that I was no good trying to attack several people at once, meaning defense was my better option. Besides, I have a shield; might as well use it as such.

 _Okay, okay…Ren's trying to get behind me. He's going to want to be a finisher or mid-fight distraction._ I slowly backed up and spun myself so as to keep Ren within my sight without losing Ruby in my blind spot.

 _Nora…Nora likes to attack, but a hammer is not an agile, first-strike kind of weapon. Her grenades are a good smoke-screen, though. Nora feels like the final blow to any sort of combo attack from the group._ I made sure to keep my eyes on Nora, only shifting my gaze to keep track of Ren and Ruby.

 _Ruby is the obvious choice for a first strike. Her speed and her scythe's potential hitting power make her the best opening strike. I just need to figure out if she is going to go with a light swipe with her scythe fully extended or if she thinks she has enough speed to go with a full blow from the normal scythe._

I shifted my eyes to Ren and then Ruby, but when I shifted them back to Nora she had switched her weapon to its grenade launcher form, and was firing a round at me. She aimed for my feet, intending to make me roll to a side, and under normal circumstances I would do just that. But I had a plan that—hopefully—would work out this opening move in my favor. If nothing else, the plan looks really cool inside my head.

I stepped forward twice so as to intercept the grenade with my shield before it made it to the ground. I swung my shield to the left and drop-stepped my right foot to the left; my shield deflected the grenade WITHOUT it blowing up on me and sent it in Ren's general direction. Since my back half was already spinning clockwise thanks to my drop-step, I took my sword from its position outstretched behind me and begun swinging it towards Ruby's direction. If my prediction is correct, she should try to use the grenade as an opportunity for a strike.

The sound of Ruby's scythe firing a round confirmed that suspicion, and I turned my head after spinning all the way around to find Ruby heading towards me, with her scythe still in a scythe configuration held behind her head, ready to strike. She swung from her right, which was the same side that my already-swinging sword was coming from. With a little maneuvering, I caught Ruby off-guard as my sword from purchase on her scythe. During my spin I had raised my sword to head-level, and now I was swinging down, so when it parried Ruby's scythe it sent it—and Ruby's arms, which held the scythe—to the ground. However, Ruby's body was not thrown from its course directly at me, so sending her weapon downwards only forced her to start spinning midair.

As Ruby approached, I brought my sword back in tight with my body and spun faster until my shield had made it all the way around to face Ruby. Just as Ruby arrived, so did my shield, and I used it to slam against Ruby and shove her somewhat in Nora's direction. I winced at the force of the collision that I felt through my shield, but didn't have time to think on it.

 _Where's Ren?_ If my hunch was still right, he would have charged to attack me after Ruby, potentially peppering me with bullets and a few light scratches to distract me from Nora's finishing blow.

Ren didn't use his weapons to bolster his speed like Nora and Ruby, so I had to make my next move based solely on the hunch that he would be charging from behind me. After my shield bash on Ruby, I was left facing Nora again, so I used my left foot to push into a spin then extended it backwards while crouching, allowing me to spin low to the ground and swipe at the feet of anyone approaching with my sword.

Ren had been approaching and leaped over my swipe, leading with his feet with the intention of kicking me over in my unbalanced state. I raised my shield, and as Ren's feet collided with my shield I rolled onto my back, then used the ground beneath me as an anchor as I shoved my shield up. The combination of the roll and the shove threw Ren off of my shield a good distance and would cause him to take time to land into a proper roll.

 _Move, Jaune. You know standing still means something is going wrong._ I didn't remember what was coming next, but I knew the only person ready to attack was Nora. I rolled backwards over my neck, and landed on one knee. Somewhere in that roll I heard the distinct sound of Nora firing her launcher, likely for a speed boost.

I looked up just in time to see the outline of a hammer block the light above me. I was able to get a shield up, and was forced to take the blow from above on one knee.

The sound of the collision rung throughout the training arena, and _immediately_ I regretted coming to training today. The shockwave made all of my extremities tingle, and I could feel vibrations reverberating throughout my chest for a good ten seconds after the blow. Not to mention, the loud percussion that took place directly above me was going to give me a killer headache.

However, I felt deep down that I hadn't been beaten by the blow. I could feel my aura: weakened and strained, but still strong enough to fight.

With every ounce of strength I had, I forced myself to stand up much sooner than everyone would have anticipated. As I rose, I used the leg whose knee I had been resting against the ground with—by the way, that knee was going to be sore for _weeks_ now after absorbing that blow—to kick out and leg sweep Nora. As she fell, I dropped my sword in place and reached out to grab her hammer's hilt.

Nora hit the ground, and I swung her hammer one-handed in a large arc behind me before bringing it down on her. She had crossed her arms and balled up her legs to absorb the blow, but I landed a huge blow on the ground next to her, indicating that I was pulling short of a lethal blow (or close enough to it to disqualify her from the spar).

 _Holy SHIT. I actually did that. It's just a 2v1 now…_

Unfortunately, those two remaining were still better fighters than me. I was distracted with my success with Nora, and didn't look up until Ruby had sniped Nora's hammer out of my hand. I instinctively dropped down to the ground and hid behind me shield; while doing so, I reached down to recover my sword. However, Ren had reflanked behind me and shot at my sword until he knocked it out of me reach. Without an offensive weapon, Ruby charged me and kicked against my shield as I stood up, and Ren slid in behind me to take out my legs. This combination launched me backwards and the fall on my back lowered my aura to below the 25% threshold considered "auraless" for spars: the next blow or bullet I took would officially disqualify me, simulating that I was out of aura.

Knowing this, Ruby had launched her own version of Nora's strike with her scythe, and came down with her scythe next to me body, cutting into the floor. Even though I had my shield up and would have blocked that blow in a life or death fight, even a blocked blow was enough to end the fight.

"Bravo! BRAVO! A good fight all around!" Called out Mr. Nikos, who had been spectating our fight; Qrow was there with him, though with a sour look on his face.

"So tell me again why _I_ had to be the one to fight all three of them?" I called out as a got up and stretched. I immediately regretting stretching, because it reminded my muscles of that ear-shattering blow I took from Nora, and everything started aching.

"Because Qrow and I made a bet last night…and _I_ just won!" Mr. Nikos called out extremely cheerfully. It would explain Qrow's sour expression, too.

"What'd you lose Uncle Qrow?" Ruby called out eagerly, but with a hint of friendly mockery thrown in.

"Just a couple rounds of drinks that I've gotta pay for…" Qrow answered, hiding his bitterness behind nonchalance.

We all walked over and joined the group. Nora was silent the whole time, probably still stunned. I can't say I blame her, I'm trying not to think about it.

"What exactly did you bet on?" Ren asked suspiciously.

"We bet on whether or not Jaune would get KO'd without taking one of you down first. If it had been Ruby that he took down, I would have won the round of drinks AND Qrow's favorite flask!" Mr. Nikos explained joyously, with Qrow just grunting in acknowledgement.

"UNCLE QROW! You bet against Jaune actually doing well!?" Ruby shouted out with offense, but again with a playful mockery underneath.

"What do you mean _actually_?" I asked Ruby, pretending to be offended by her defense.

"I—uh…I didn't mean…you know…" Ruby trailed off quietly, earning a laugh from the whole group. Even Qrow, who poked Ruby as if to show off that she was the one who got caught. Ruby just squinted and growled at him in return.

"Well, ice up, gang. Meet me in the film room in five minutes and we'll go over how you did today…" Mr. Nikos announced as he motioned us over to the med-kit and—Nora's favorite—the snack bar.

Yes, their academy had a snack bar, and as one of their part-time teacher's guests/private students, we had access to it. Nora and Ruby always went straight for the deserts (which for some reason they provided as snacks for training exercises), Ren was usually content with fruit (an apple today), and I went with my usual: pretzels. A snack just good enough to hit the middle ground between a treat and a healthy snack. Normally, I went for those or peanut butter and crackers, but _someone_ had eaten all the peanut butter when they decided to try them with pancakes…

And yes, at Nora's request, they stocked this place with pancakes. Why would _anyone_ ever want to leave this school?

Actually, that's a good question. Pyrrha chose Beacon over _this place_ , where her father was even a part-time training instructor. Why _did_ she leave?

* * *

Present

(Ren's POV)

Ren watched the interrogation through the glass, barely daring to blink so as to not miss anything. There already was clearly a lot of things he was missing, and he couldn't afford to add to that by missing some detail here.

Winter had gotten nowhere during her short ten minutes with Jaune so far. He hadn't as much as moved, much less spoke a word, and none of Winter's taunts or baits changed that. For a moment, it looked like he was about to do something when Winter tried playing Pyrrha against him, but he still resolved to do nothing. It was as if he was just…taking it all. He was taking anything she wanted to throw at him. She threw out multiple theories, each painting Jaune in a better or worse light with the hopes that he would latch on to one in order to get a plea deal, but he just seemed to solemnly accept them all.

He wasn't fighting back. He wasn't here to fight, it seemed; he was just here to take punches. And if he didn't give Winter something soon, that's exactly what he would get when she'll let Qrow loose in there.

Frustrated (though hiding it), Winter gathered her files and walked out of the interrogation room, shortly reappearing in the observation room. She was visibly angry and very obviously done with the situation.

"QROW!" She snapped out, with Qrow closing his scroll and looking up immediately. He knew what that tone meant. "He's all yours. I've got too many things to deal with; just leave him _alive_."

Silently, Qrow took the file from Winter and walked out the door, only to quickly reappear in the room with Jaune. Jaune's head tilted slightly to get a look at the newcomer and his eyes followed Qrow as he set the files back on the table in front of him; other than that, Jaune still hadn't moved.

Qrow slowly and intentionally walked behind Jaune and stopped. I could see Qrow's fists clench as he was fighting himself over whether he was prepared to go through with it.

He was. Without warning, Qrow reached up and grabbed the back of Jaune's head by his hair and slammed his face onto the table violently.

"GAhhh!" Jaune whimpered out, as his hands shot up as far as they could (still handcuffed to the table) and he grabbed his nose.

Qrow walked over to the other side of the table and sat down calmly, then reached over and struck Jaune across the cheek.

"Okay. Now that we've been acquainted, you're going to tell me where my niece is, and we both are going to pretend that I'm not planning on killing you either way."

Jaune—still recovering from the punch to the face—opened his eyes wide in surprise, but still didn't respond. If anything, it looked as if the promise of death was unexpected more than anything else.

"Fine. We'll do this _my_ way then…" Qrow stated ominously when Jaune didn't respond, and began fiddling with his rings. One by one, each ring spun as if adjusting some internal mechanic before they sprung and allowed a spike to pop out.

"This one…" Qrow said as pointing to one of them, "…is laced with a chemical that slowly makes the area around the puncture feel like its burning. And _this one_ …" Qrow trailed off extremely ominously, as if really excited to share it dramatically.

He never got the chance.

" _Qrow, come to the observation room immediately._ " Winter's voice over the comm in the room interrupted.

"What?! I haven't even started yet!" Qrow shouted angrily!

" _Now!_ "

Qrow mumbled something that sounded like "yes, mother" as a sat up and gathered his file, before coming back to the observation room.

"They'll brief you. I've got to deal with this."

Indeed, while Qrow was attacking Jaune, a text had come in to everyone's scrolls.

 _Weiss Schnee: FOUND HER! She was in surgery at the General Hospital. Apparently, she was dropped off in the ER and nurses were told she was a Huntress that needed immediate attention. The man left without any nurse getting a good look during the chaos after the attack._

Yang had immediately locked Qrow up in a hug the moment he got back in the room, and by the time the situation was explained to Qrow the room was no longer burning hot.

However, rather than celebrate, I watched Winter curiously as she walked back into the interrogation room and sat down across from Jaune.

"Shortly after Beacon fell, I lead a team of Atlas specialists to return to Beacon Tower and find any information we could that would help explain how Beacon fell. There were a lot of personnel files recovered from the archives, including all the applications to Beacon from the last five years. I took the liberty of looking up yours, Jaune, and it was probably the worst fake I've ever seen. I have no clue how you got into Beacon."

Jaune rolled his eyes at the mention of how bad his fake application was.

"Yours isn't the only fake application. So far, I've identified three other fake applications—transfer students for the Vytal Festival—that belonged to Cinder Fall and her two lackies, Mercury and Emerald. That puts you in interesting company, Jaune…According to our records, earlier today you actually _captured_ one Mercury Black and brought him aboard to be processed and locked up, and yet he never made it to a cell. Now Ironwood is dead and our files were hacked, not to mention the attempted sabotage of the engines. Sounds like a job for more than just one man, doesn't it?

"And we already know that Cinder and her… _allies_ …targeted Ruby Rose once, unsuccessfully. So as best I can figure, you and Mercury—both students under fake applications at Beacon—came aboard together just before Ironwood was assassinated, our servers compromised, an attempted sabotage on our engines, and an attempted assassination of Ruby.

"The only thing I have to ask you, Jaune, is how long have you worked for Salem?"


	5. Head in the Clounds

**Author's Note: _Someone_ caught me switching from 3rd to 1st person during the last chapter, so instead of doing the logical thing which would be owning up to it and not doing it again, I'm instead going to experiment with more ways to introduce whose point of view each chapter is.**

 **I kid. That would drive me crazy. No third to first switching from here on out, I promise…**

* * *

Past

(Jaune's POV)

We all took our seat in the "film room" built into the training facilities. It was a small theater, that could fit only about forty or fifty people, but there was also a lecture podium off to the side, adding a classroom vibe. This was the place where upperclassmen (and even graduated Huntsmen sometimes) would go over film of advanced fighters to learn their techniques or, as it pertains to us, where they would watch the film from the spars they just completed.

"Well, now that you've all gotten your _snacks_ …" Mr. Nikos barked out, not-so-subtly poking fun at Ruby, "…we can go over some things I noticed during that fight. Any questions before we start?"

We were all sitting on the front row, and Mr. Nikos had dragged his chair to a spot between the podium and us. I sat on the far right end (closest to Mr. Nikos), with Ruby to my left, then Nora, then Ren on the end. Ruby had just finished yet _another_ cookie she had brought from the 'snack room' and was working on the glass of milk that had accompanied it. Nora was downing her second of three protein shakes (the ones that she had brought into the film room, at least). And Ren was (somehow) happily sipping on one of his… _healthy_ smoothies.

Me? All I had were ice packs. And I had plenty of them.

"Yeah, don't you have an actual job to do?" I asked sarcastically, trying to get some small revenge for him making me fight three people at once.

"Well, as a part time instructor here at the Academy I'm required to train students, and as the man in charge of city defense, it's my job to see that my Huntsmen and Huntresses are trained. In a way, I'm doing both my jobs right now." He answered smarmily.

"Any other questions? No? Good, let's begin."

He pulled up the footage, and played it once in full speed to refresh every one of the events. It wasn't very long, and the screen was split into multiple feeds from different angles around the sparring facility.

"Alright, let's break this down. Nora, that shot should have been aimed to land to Jaune's side to prevent exactly what happened."

"Yeah, well, I never thought that…" Nora trailed off. Mr. Nikos continued anyways.

"Ruby, you underestimated your opponent because you thought you knew him too well. You went for a heavier blow and it slowed you down enough for Jaune—by the way, nice job with the shield bash—to smack you silly.

"Ren, you didn't do anything wrong on your charge. Jaune, I probably would have turned into a ready stance to try and deflect Ren instead of going for a blind strike against someone you couldn't hear coming, but it worked, so…"

We continued discussing the fight in this manner, stopping to really in-depth cover some instances of the fight; however, my head just wasn't in it the whole time. There was…just that question from earlier, bouncing around in my head.

 _Why did Pyrrha leave this place for Beacon?_

She had connections here, with her father as one of the fighting instructors. Clearly, she enjoyed training with him, making this a perfect arrangement for her. Not to mention the fact that she was semi-famous here thanks to the Pumpkin Pete's cereal box deal. There doesn't seem to be any reason to leave.

I was clearly distracted, and everyone knew it, considering we were breaking down film about me kicking some ass. Operative word there is 'some,' not all. My teammates just let me stare off at the screen with a blank face, but Mr. Nikos did not seem to be so willing to let it go.

Before I knew it, the session was over and Mr. Nikos changed gears.

"Now, while I absolutely think it benefits me to train any warrior who is willing to help protect my family, with the heightened tensions I always need more help in other matters. I have a few tasks to ask of each of you that should help keep you busy while you're here. Since you came here expected us to need your help, I figure you wouldn't object to helping us out."

"What do you need us to do?" Ruby asked for the group.

"Nothing major, I promise; some small tasks. I've got a few extra shifts patrolling on the walls, some weapons I need field tested for repairs… stuff like that. If you all are up to it, I could even arrange to have you all go out on a patrol to check on some nearby villages and known forest homes."

"YOU MEAN WE CAN FIGHT SOMETHING?!" Nora almost jumped out of her seat.

"Well…there's a higher chance of some straggling Grimm in the woods than there is in these training rooms…" Mr. Nikos answered carefully, but while stifling a chuckle.

"Right now, I just need one person to walk on the wall and act as a lookout and/or a posted guard. Jaune, feel like stretching your legs?"

"Huh? Oh, uh…sure. Sounds better than getting smacked around by you or Qrow or Ren or Ruby in the training room…" I made a show of leaving off Nora from my list, then turned to her and stuck my tongue out at her to get a rise.

It worked, as her exclusion left her mouth agape and her right hand clutching the middle of her chest out of surprise and mock-indignation, playing along with the joke, but when I stuck my tongue out at her she cut her eyes back at me.

"I'm watching you, _Arc!_ " Nora called out as I followed Mr. Nikos out of the room.

As we began walking towards wherever he wanted me stationed, Mr. Nikos began grilling me on why I hadn't been paying attention.

"So, is there anything I should know before I trust you to focus on guarding my city?" Mr. Nikos asked, intentionally overplaying the scenario to get my attention. "You seemed lost in a daze back there in the film room…"

I was taken aback for a moment until I realized that there was a joke hidden in there to keep it from sounding harsh. I think he's genuinely concerned, but wants to hide it behind "I don't want you falling asleep on patrol."

"I just…I've been thinking a lot, recently…" I started, fumbling for how (and what) I wanted to say.

"Well, from what I hear that usually ends badly, but go on…" He jabbed, but I missed the intent of the insult, still too wrapped up in my thoughts.

"It's just that…everything here is so nice. It's too good a place to be, really."

"Well, I mean, we do try really hard to be better than you scrubs, so I guess that pays off." He joked after a brief pause where he was taken aback.

"No, I mean like…as a student Huntsman. This place is…it's great. The facilities are top-notch, the city is so close and so lively… the Academy seems pretty much on the same level as Beacon…"

He didn't reply immediately, and his demeanor dampened a little as he sized up what I was getting at.

"I think I know where this is going, but continue."

"I just…why did she…?" I fumbled my words again as my thoughts raced much faster than my mouth. It also didn't help that my thoughts had no particular pattern; they were just racing around, colliding into things and not helping anything. If I'm lucky I won't get another headache.

"Why did Pyrrha go to Beacon instead of staying here?" He inferred, waiting for me to nod in confirmation, which I did.

"That's…well, it's not a _long_ story, but it's a story nonetheless. It…was my doing, really, that made her chose Beacon. There's really two parts to this story, so I might as well start.

"My daughter was the absolute cockiest 14-year-old you ever saw."

I turned my head to stare at Mr. Nikos, partially wondering when he was going to take it back and announce that he was just joking.

"Nope, I'm serious, she was a precious daddy's girl (and a momma's girl too, for that matter) that would rather have been sparring with me than out with friends, but whenever she picked up a weapon she was going to kick your ass and let you know it ahead of time.

"I still don't believe you, but go ahead…" I stated uncertainly.

"I'm sure you won't be surprised to find out that she was always a gifted duelist, but when you get a 14-year-old who fights like they were born to do so, has a father who teaches dueling part-time at the Academy, and can control metal with her semblance, there tends to be the opportunity to be…arrogant. She loved fighting people her age—other gifted kids and such—because she always mopped the floor with them.

"That is, until the day that she found out that her biggest rival—this 15-year-old dude who was just a total jackass and really got under her skin—was going to enter into an official fighting tournament for 20 & Under fighters. Naturally, Pyrrha wanted nothing more than to enter it and win it over him, but she didn't realize what she was getting herself into."

"What, you mean the girl who controls metal couldn't win that? She did get a cereal contract at age 17, you know…" I chimed in, for some reason feeling the need to defend Pyrrha since…

Well, since she isn't here to do it herself.

"That's the thing; as a 14-year-old, she was so overly reliant on her semblance, that if she ever met someone who could figure out a way around it—say, a duelist who was older and more prepared—then she would be embarrassed at how bad she would lose without it. And of course, my teenage daughter wouldn't listen to reason from me, so I had to take measures into my own hands."

"What did you do? Did you tell her opponent not to use any metal?" I asked, thinking about how I would even begin to counter Pyrrha in a fight. The only person to do it so far…didn't have any metal on them, and had a lot of firepower that didn't involve metal. _Literally, firepower_.

"I told her that we would arrange a 1v1 with her rival and if she won then I would let her enter."

"And he agreed?"

"That cocky son of a bitch? This match sold itself to them both. What Pyrrha didn't know was that I would be facilitating the fight…with my semblance."

Intrigued, I watched him patiently, waiting for him to reveal it. When he took too long, I got impatient.

"And what would that be?"

"I have the ability to prevent others from using their semblances, and I can use this ability selectively."

My eyes went wide and my mouth went slightly agape as I thought out the implications.

"So, I took away both of their semblances and…she got her ass kicked, just like I had thought. And she didn't come out of her room for two days afterwards. I had no clue that it would…traumatize her that much; my wife still calls me an idiot for that, by the way."

I thought for a moment, taking into consideration everything I know about Pyrrha and really pondering what he meant, until it finally hit me.

"She liked him, didn't she? Her 'rival,' the dude she couldn't stand. She had a huge crush on the dude." I half-asked, half-stated.

"Yeah, yeah she did. Big time, and how bad he embarrassed her showed her that it wasn't reciprocated. How…how did _you_ know that?" He asked, alluding to my troubles in identifying specifically Pyrrha's crushes.

"I…I promised myself that I wouldn't be so naïve anymore, not after…well, you know." I answered quietly, almost afraid of letting him hear. Fortunately, he didn't want to press me.

"Well, anyhow, when she did come out of her room, she had…changed. The first thing she wanted was, well, a really big meal of her favorite comfort foods because she had locked herself in her room for two days. The second thing she did was ask me to begin training her without her semblance.

"That day was the day that the Pyrrha Nikos you knew was born, although it took her a long time to build back the battle-confidence she had."

We walked silently for a minute or so, with Mr. Nikos having fallen into a quiet lull and me too entranced to even consider asking him to go on. At least, for a minute or so.

"So, what's the second part of the story, then? The part that actually mentions why she went to Beacon?"

"Ah, right…" he muttered as he shook himself from his lull. "Well, you would think that after that first story, should would never have gone against my advice again…and you would be right. There was only one more time that she wanted to go against me, and that's when I told her that I thought she should go to Beacon instead of staying here. She was the top of her class at Sanctum Academy and had won the Mistral Regional Tournament for the fourth time in a row—ironically, starting when she was 14 after only a month training without her semblance—and she could have gone anywhere she wanted. She had even been featured on the cover of Pumpkin Pete's. And she wanted, more than anything, to enroll in Haven Academy. To her, it was the perfect step, because she could stay close to her family and her private dueling coach—that would be her father—had been offered a full-time position at Haven."

"Which brings me to my question, why did she leave? Why did you want her to go to Beacon?"

"I don't know, I just felt that…I felt that we would have held her back. If she had stayed here, what life would that give her? She would have gotten the same instruction she had always gotten and would have been surrounded by the same crowd of admirers that she never got to really interact with. She didn't have any real friends, just a ring of other fighters and student who knew she was better than them and treated her as some sort of person too good to interact with them. She would have graduated and then taken a Huntress' role defending the city. The highest she could have ever achieved here was just as our city's best fighter, and I felt like she could do more. That's why I wanted her to go to Beacon; it was the best place for her to realize her potential."

"So it was just like that?"

"Oh hell no. She refused to even consider it. She filled out an application and was accepted, but she only did that to get me off her case. She had absolutely no intentions of actually going to Beacon. So I did the only thing I could: I challenged her to a duel, with no holds barred, and the winner got to pick where she went to school."

"And she accepted that challenge?" I asked confused.

"She thought it through. As much as she didn't want to go, she thought she could change my mind because if she lost, it would prove that there were still things I could teach her at Haven. And if she won, she would go to Haven. So she accepted it."

"How'd the fight go?" I asked eagerly, although the result should have been obvious.

* * *

 _Alright, catch your breath, slow your breathing, FOCUS. Good._

 _I put my shield on my back and drew my second sword, adopting an aggressive fighting stance. My girl's been giving me as much as I can handle when I let her press, so surely she's tired out by now. If not, and this offensive doesn't work, I might actually be in trouble here._

 _Pyrrha put her shield on her back as well, and shifted her weapon into its sword form. It's only a nondescript, basic-looking sword because the sword form was really just an afterthought of the design, but she's trained in swordplay and will use it like a pro._

 _She took a defensive stance with the sword held directly in front of her. I charged her and attacked from my left with both swords, and she braced and blocked them both with hers. I broke the embrace and reared back with my right sword, signaling that I was going to take a heavy diagonal swipe from my right side, but only using it as a decoy attack. My real attack was with my left sword, where I subtly jabbed it at her hip, but she wasn't fooled as she swatted the blow out to the side and then used that motion to create an arc around her body, ending with her holding her sword downwards at the side of her head to block my dummy attack._

 _With a flick of her wrists and an upward push with her arms, she broke the lock and came down with a downwards slash across my chest, cutting into my aura yet again. However, this left her with her hands and sword at the bottom of her body and her chest unguarded. I planted off my back foot and launched a headbutt directly into her diaphragm to knock the wind out of her and move her a few steps back. As she stumbled, I launched myself forwards in the air and began a new wave of light attacks and swipes coming from opposing directions._

 _Stunned and out of breath, I had counted on her to make a mistake or slow down before she found a weakness in my attack. I was wrong. Despite not being able to breathe and being slowly backed further and further up, her defense never faltered. She kept her hands in the center of her body and moved her blade the minimum amount needed to block or deflect each oncoming swiping, allowing her to defend both sides of her body with one blade while never fully running out of energy._

 _I had overestimated the energy left within her, and set up a final blow where I would bring both blades down from above and force her to block it, which would signal the beginning of the end since she wouldn't have the strength to do so. But she surprised me, and as I wound up for the overhead attack she showed me that she had just slightly more left in the tank than I had anticipated, as she kicked me upside the head on her way into a backflip. I fell flat on my ass and lost both my swords, and as I opened my eyes I found a very tired, heavily panting, and absolutely radiating Pyrrha Nikos holding a blade to my neck, smiling from ear to ear._

* * *

"The fight went well, I guess. We both put everything we had into it, and she won."

My eyes arched, as I was not expecting that.

"She _won_?"

"Yep, knocked me flat on my ass. And she couldn't have been happier. But, as she started to think about what had happened, her smile faded; she realized that she had won a fair fight—very fair, since she couldn't use her semblance—and that it meant that there truly was nothing left for her to learn. And once she realized that…she saw that Haven had nothing left to offer her.

"That's the moment when she decided to go to Beacon."

Present

(Ren's POV)

"WINTER!" Qrow grunted as loud as he could without being so loud as to be heard through the glass. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?"

Winter's nonchalant 'I'm not dealing with you, Qrow' face was on full display, but had cracked slightly. Qrow didn't even let her respond before going after her again.

"You've known about this for all of what, a few hours, and you think you can just go around and name-drop _Salem_ whenever you want!? These video logs are going to come up in a trial at some point, and then you'll have to explain on record EXACTLY what you mean! We can't afford that!"

"Qrow…" Winter responded softly, almost as if she expected to be cut off.

"Just because you're temporality in charge of an army doesn't mean that you can go around revealing intel and interrogating prisoners however you feel like!"

"Qrow…" She started again, waiting for him to run out of breath.

"WHAT!?" Qrow finally caved.

"As far as anyone is concerned right now, this is a terrorism case. That means that there doesn't have to be a trial, and I don't have to share the evidence with anyone. If fact, it will all be classified."

"I don't care. I'm taking over his interrogation, end of story." Qrow asserted.

"Like _hell_ you are. This was an attack against the Atlas Military, and we will take the lead on this." Winter shot back.

"Um, hey, if anyone's listening…" Jaune spoke up from the other side of the glass, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and listen. If he was choosing now to speak, they wanted to be sure they didn't miss anything. "…I'm ready to talk. But only to Qrow."

Qrow gave Winter a classic "eat-shit" grin and grabbed the folder of files from her arms.

"Eat your heart out, Ice Queen."


	6. Meetings and Reunions

**Author's Note: This was an instance where I played around with my presentation style for the interrogation. Here is what my original Author's Note said:**

 _For this interrogation scene, italicized sections denote the story that Jaune tells whoever is interrogating him. I thought about telling it all in quotation marks, but that was going to get old really fast._

 **Writing fanfics is fun as a writer, because I can screw around and have some fun. As readers, this can make following along hard sometimes. Meh.**

* * *

Present

(Ren's POV)

Everyone in the observation room watched anxiously as Qrow took a seat across from Jaune and took his time laying out the various contents of the folder he took from Winter. Although she had better things to do, Winter insisted to be here for the interrogation, so she sat in the back quietly talking into her scroll, giving orders to someone. Yang stood on the left side of the glass, arms folded and intently watching with a light scowl on her face, although her mood had improved drastically with the news that Ruby was alive and safe.

Speaking of Ruby, Weiss was having her transferred to Atlas' med-bay by Atlas airship, so both of them would be here soon enough.

As for Ren, not much had changed for him—Nora was still smothered into his side, though now they had found some folding chairs and set them up next to each other. Yang had a chair too, but hadn't sat in it yet.

"Gotta say, wouldn't have expected you to ask for me after…well, you know…" Qrow opened up nonchalantly while taking a drink from the one flask that Winter permitted be brought to him. It would be cruel towards Jaune not to take the edge off of Qrow after he attacked him last time.

"You're the only one I know well enough to talk to, but also don't like enough to care to see the look on your face when I tell you what I've done…" Jaune answered softly, showing a hint of regret only at the repercussions he might receive, not the atrocities he committed.

"Riiiight. About that… Mind telling me what exactly happened? It's gonna save us a lot of time later when Winter decides to torture you…" Qrow half-threatened, testing to see if he could get a rise. He couldn't.

"I mean, if it's going to be more efficient, then I guess I have to go along…" Jaune gave it right back to him. "How about…"

"How about _what_ , Jaune?"

"How about I start by telling you how I pulled it off?"

"That's as good a place to start as any, although pertinent information on enemy movements or incoming attacks would have been preferred."

* * *

" _If it helps, I can escort him to a cell. No need for you to leave your post." I calmly offered, hoping that they would accept._

" _Yeah sure, cell 372B." The clerk read back nonchalantly._

 _As we walked down the halls to the cells, I scanned to check the camera locations._

" _The cell appears to be in a deadzone, so we'll be good." I whispered to Mercury._

" _Just shut up and don't screw this up…"_

 _We got to the cell and went in, ready to execute the next phase of the plan. I pulled out the Atlesian Soldier's uniform I had tucked under my hoodie and pretended to let Mercury knock me out, just in case there were any cameras watching. After Mercury put on the outfit, he locked me in the cell and went off to execute the next part of his plan._

 _I laid on the ground for a few minutes before pretending to wake up, and then pulled out my scroll to call Ruby for help._

 _After a few rings, she picked up._

" _Hey Ruby, I need a favor."_

" _O…kay? What is it?"_

" _I need…" I cut myself off, then started to whisper as if I was embarrassed about my problem. "I locked myself in one of the detainment cells and I need you to come let me out…"_

 _A few minutes later—after Ruby had a good laugh at my expense—she let me out and promised not to tell anyone._

 _From there, I made my way to the bridge, checking the watch on my wrist. I only had a minute before Mercury was scheduled to blow up one of the main engines, and that was my only shot at Ironwood._

 _As the explosion rocked the airship, I made my move and slipped in the back of the main bridge, where Ironwood was frantically shouting commands to anyone that was listening._

 _I drew my sword and took two large swipes across his back, before sweeping his legs and pinning him down. Then I drew the high-caliber pistol I had tucked away and fired at his head until I broke the aura. In the confusion of the ship starting to fall and the lights going into emergency energy-conservation mode, only one of the men at the control panels looked up in time to see me…so I emptied the rest of the magazine on him before running off._

 _When I got to the hangar, I was preparing to steal a small ship and fly it somewhere where the auto-landing procedures would help me out, but Ruby found me and…I decided to attack her before she figured anything out, hoping it would give me an advantage._

* * *

"Bullshit." Qrow called out almost annoyed at Jaune. "That was probably one of the worst spun stories I've ever heard. Only two men to assassinate Ironwood, blow up an engine, and steal our data? That's at least a three-man job, one for each task at the same time. That means there is someone we don't know about that you're trying to protect.

"Tell me, Jaune, who is so important that you are still trying to help them?"

Past

(Jaune's POV)

I had only been on patrol for a few minutes since Mr. Nikos left. It was a dreary afternoon, overcast and dull, with some fog off into the distance making the surrounding trees seem hidden.

It wasn't dull for long, as suddenly a large explosion from a nearby section of the wall shook the stone. Before I even knew what was going on, I was rushing towards the site of the explosion and directing traffic.

There hadn't been many people near the area of the explosion, so they hadn't been the target. The wall, however, had been blown up from the city-side. As I looked inside the wall, I realized why this hard been targeted: it was an armory. There was everything from dust storage to boxes full of ammunition to rows of rifles, and as I took a peak deeper inside, I could have sworn I saw movement like someone was trying to hide.

Apparently I had been the first responder, and after a few seconds, soldiers started to congregate in the area, looking to me for direction as a Huntsman and the first responder.

My plan— _the_ plan—that I had been loosely forming these last few days came to mind, and suddenly I had a clear path to make it happen. If I could make contact with whoever blew this hole, hopefully they could lead me up their chain of command until I was speaking with someone who could actually help me.

"Spread out, canvas the area! They can't have gotten far! I'll stay here and guard the armory!" I shouted to everyone here, and to my relief they all scattered and starting searching the areas around the explosion site.

I didn't have much time, so I hurried inside and searched in the area that I saw movement.

"Whoever you are, I just sent them away. If you want to escape, you need to trust me and hurry."

I turned my back to where I thought they were hiding, hoping that they would seize the opportunity to attack and expose themselves to me. What I did not expect was how fast they would move. The next thing I knew, I had been tackled face first onto the ground.

My instincts kicked in, and I fought to roll over and struggle against my attacker, but only ended up pinned to the group with my arms out to the side by a gray-haired man I had seen during the Vytal Festival—Mercury Black.

"Scream and I'll make it last longer…" he growled at me.

"I wouldn't do that." I responded while motioning towards my hand, where I had my scroll out. "I'm one button away from calling in every soldier within a mile radius. Let me up to talk, or I'll have you taken out of here in cuffs."

Mercury wasn't going to, but another person came up from behind him and tugged on his shoulder until he relented. This second person was short—very short—and had tri-colored hair (blonde, strawberry, and brown). She fit the description of that Neo girl that Ruby mentioned in her fight with Torchwick, and until I know better, I'm calling her as such.

"Any particular reason you're helping us?" Mercury asked, still clearly angry he couldn't kill me.

"I…I want a meeting with your boss."

The anger in Mercury's eyes didn't subside, but he did scoff at my request with a hint of humor. Neo remained quiet, but her eyes softened ever so slightly and was replaced with skeptical curiosity.

" _Fat chance I'm doing that…_ " Mercury called back. "You think I'm that gullible? How would you even set a trap for Cinder? It's not like you have a lot of _experience_ left on your side anymore…"

I quickly took a breath and held it while balling my free hand into a fist, searching for some reserve of strength to get me through this. I found one, but only just barely enough to convince me to go forward with my plan.

"No, not Cinder…" I said, forcing myself to sound nonchalant so they wouldn't see how truly nervous I was. "I want to speak with this… _Salem_ …"

No sooner had the words left my mouth, Mercury's eyes went wide before renewing their anger as he lunged to strike me with hit foot, apparently not caring that I could call reinforcements.

For some reason, whether I knew better or just flinched, I didn't call for help.

I didn't have time to draw my weapon, so I braced for Mercury's kick, which landed dead center of my chest. I stumbled backwards, but was prepared enough that I didn't fall, so I drew my shield and began blocking the flurry of kicks Mercury was launching at me.

Mercury was going straight for killing blows, revealing an air of desperation now that he had identified me as a real threat and now that he knew his time was limited. He tried a triple roundhouse kick—he enhanced his spin by firing blasts out of his feet that spun him faster with each shot—that came at me from the left. The first kick I blocked with the shield, but the force of the kick made me stagger a little bit. The second kick, having been enhanced by his newfound spinning momentum, nearly knocked me over.

 _Plant your feet! He's moving too fast! If I can solidly block this kick, I can knock him down_.

Still stumbling from the second kick, I placed my right foot out wide and bent at the knee, bracing as best I could. It still wouldn't be enough, though, and I knew if I was going to survive this fight I would need to do more than withstand this blow.

 _I need to push back harder_.

I took just a moment to build up all the strength I could in my right leg. This whole fight—and likely my life, my mission, and my promise—depended on that leg, and I was terrified that it wouldn't be enough. I reached down deep inside, hoping to use my aura, or find some newfound strength, or maybe even a Semblance.

I found something, though I can't be sure what. It would have to do.

I shoved off my right foot with everything I had in me, and concentrated all my weight behind my shield, which I aimed for the side of Mercury's thigh. Instead of his considerable velocity sending his foot into me and knocking me over, his velocity combined with mine as my shield smacked into the side of his left thigh, launching him backwards onto the ground with a loud groan.

My adrenaline spiked at seeing a successful attack and I pressed my advantage, lunging forward to strike Mercury with my sword.

Fortunately, I remembered that I was here to make connections, not kill them—or more likely, piss them off—and I pulled my attack short to make a point. I looked to the side to see the short one—Neo, I reminded myself—casually resting her umbrella on her shoulder, content to watch the fight with curious eyes and a sinister grin. She never moved to intervene on Mercury's behalf, something I found odd. I mean, I'm certain my team would step in to save my life, seeing as that is practically a daily thing for us at this point. Just how life goes for teams JN_R and RNJR: wake up, fight Nora for a pancake, save Jaune from something.

"So, about that meeting…" I said, a hundred times less nervous after actually holding my own, even if it was a fluke. I held my sword with the tip pointed at Mercury's head, while staying mindful that his feet are his weapons.

"You think we're that stupid? Without Ozpin to lead you, we can smell your desperation from across the continent. I'm not going to be the idiot to give in…" Mercury spat back angrily, while rubbing the side of his leg where we collided. _That's sure to leave a bruise_.

My eyebrows arched at something he said, and I was left with a dilemma on what to do. I know how I can get a meeting and possibly even the favor I need, but it would mean…

Well, it would mean full betrayal of everything I've stood for so far, and would officially be a line cross that I can't come back from.

 _I don't have time to doubt. If this is my best chance, it's worth everything_.

"What if I told you we aren't hurting for leadership as badly as you think…" I replied calmly, sheathing my sword and backing away to let Mercury stand up.

" _What do you mean_?"

"If I told you Ozpin was alive, and I knew where he was, what would Salem do to you if you didn't take me to her?" I asked, hoping that this Salem is as evil and scary to her minions as I imagine an evil witch bent on destroying the world is.

They both went silent and their eyes darted to each other. When they planned this bombing attack, they clearly had no clue things would go this way, and now they were left to decide what to do in a situation they knew would have repercussions if they got it wrong.

When Mercury failed to respond, Neo took matters in to her own hands. She strolled towards me while fiddling with her scroll, and when she reached me she offered it to me. I took it cautiously, not certain what her angle was, but upon examining the screen her intents were obvious: her scroll had a blank contact page open. I went ahead and filled out my name and the number to my scroll and handed it back to her. When she took it, she began typing away at it, and after a few moments I felt my scroll buzz. I pulled it out to check the message.

 _New Number:_ _Two nights from now. West side of town. Warehouse on 12_ _th_ _and West Streets. We'll determine if you're worth the effort there._

I read the words carefully, before shifting my gaze back to Mercury and Neo. I watched them closely, uncertain what to take from her answer.

 _For all I know, this is a trap in a place where they aren't worried about being caught. But it's also my best shot._

I stepped aside, and motioned for them to leave. They did so silently, not thirty seconds before more reinforcements came to help me secure the area.

* * *

It's 10am in the morning, and currently I'm passing my time laying on the couch and playing on my scroll. I did my patrolling yesterday, and I did such an "outstanding job that I had earned a day off." Yes, seriously, and the irony of that statement was not lost on me. I just so happened to be in the right place to send everyone out 'searching' for perpetrators just so I could find them myself—and start down a path to treason, now that I think about it—and my they praised my instincts. It didn't matter that no one found the perpetrators—big surprise, I know. All anyone took from that was that I had the natural instincts to be a leader and think on my feet, staying cool under pressure.

 _Makes at least some sense. I have operated my whole life under pressure; it's not easy being Jaune Arc. It's almost a handicap at life…_

A door opened—the front door, to be specific—and in walked a _very_ tired Mr. Nikos. I was confused for a moment before I remembered the events of the night before. I had a late night, what with debriefs and further investigating the area, and Mr. Nikos told me that I could crash on the couch since his residence was closer to the Headquarters we ended up at. If _I_ had a late night, then I can only imagine the kind of night he had, seeing as he is just getting home at 10am.

"Any news?" I asked, half curious and half trying to make sure he was still awake enough to function.

Mr. Nikos did a double take after seeing me on his couch.

"Not that it matters, but why are you here, Jaune?"

"You…told me to sleep here last night?"

Mr. Nikos shook his head as if he was trying to wake himself up.

"Ah. I did. Anyhow, after the attack we have just _narrowly_ decided to accept Atlas's offer of help. Their airships will help ours maintain patrols across our territory without congregating in one spot too much. For the first month, General Ironwood and his flagship will personally guard our capital, and to ensure that Atlas isn't planning to attack us, there will not be a single robotic soldier in the entire Kingdom."

"Cool…" I answered, partially regretting asking for so many details in the first place. It wasn't exactly exciting stuff. "When do they get here?"

"About three days, from what I heard. Not enough time, if you ask me…"

"Why's that?"

"Well, we get three days to convince our people that Atlas is _not_ a threat to us, despite what happened at Beacon, despite the fact they will be parking their flagship next door, and despite the fact that we don't know if _we_ even believe it."

"Huh. Sounds like you need a nap…" I responded respectfully, trying to signal that I was okay if he wanted to cut our talk short.

"Kid, a nap ain't got nothing on what I'm about to do…" He joked tiredly, before heading towards his bedroom. "Enjoy your day off, Jaune…"

I returned to playing on my phone, and as I did so something curious happened.

Ruby, being the energetic ball of fun that she is, once created a group text for all members of Team RWBY and Team JNPR. It hadn't been active in a while, with the last time it saw widespread use being during the break between semesters when Yang and I kept sharing memes with the group. It did, however, make a good means of quickly conferring with all of the members of our teams, but with the inter-Kingdom system still down, it only sent texts to anyone else in the same Kingdom as you. Team RNJR had created a group chat similar to it when we arrived in Mistral—Ruby, of course, created it—and it served us well so far.

I got a message in the group chat that I hadn't expected.

 _Yang In There: Hey guys, I just rode into Mistral. There isn't any chance anyone is here I can meet up with? :)_

The first thing I noticed is that I really, _really_ need a new contact name for Yang. Before I could even think about how to respond, Ruby—who was supposed to be working in a weapons shop today—had already responded.

 _Caped Girl: YANG!_

 _Caped Girl: OHMYGODYANG_

 _Yang In There: I'm just messing with you guys. I've been following your trail all the way here. You guys down to meet for lunch?_

 _Yang In There: You're buying, by the way. I spent my cash on a boat ride. Stupid ferries._

 _Pancake Queen: There's a good Spicy Ramen shop downtown. Noon sound good to everyone?_

 _Why You Always Lie-Ren: Nora, we've had that place for lunch every day since we got here…_

 _Pancake Queen: Aaaaaaaand?_

 _Why You Always Lie-Ren: Fine. Noon it is._

 _Caped Girl: I'll be there!_

 _Yang In There: Sounds good to me_

 _Me: Do you think they have Chicken Nuggets?_

 _Pancake Queen: You'll survive, Jaune. There's a fast food place across the street._

 _Me: I'll be there then._

 _Ice Queen: Do you guys have room for one more?_

 _Caped Girl: !_

 _Caped Girl: WEISSSSSSSSSSSS_

 _Caped Girl: IM SO CONFUSED WEISS YOURE HERE TOO_

 _Caped Girl: AHHHHHHHHH!_

 _Why You Always Lie-Ren: Yes, Weiss, we'll save you a seat._

 _Me: I think we should disband this group chat before Ruby has a stroke over there…_

 _Caped Girl: HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!_

 _Ice Queen: Long story. I'll tell you all at lunch. It involves, of all things, becoming a stowaway._

 _Yang In There: #SunWukong_

 _Ice Queen: Oh shut up._


	7. Fisticuffs

**Author's Note: Excerpt from my original Author's Note that I thought needed to be preserved:**

 _Jaune really strikes me as the type to enjoy/create/distribute self-deprecating memes (see Tumblr page Jauneisms) and that's exactly the kind of person to continuously change the names in his phone to even more ridiculous titles._

* * *

Present Day

(Qrow's POV)

 _((Mostly Sober))_

As I sat here and stared down Jaune Arc, my mind quickly and methodically went over everything I had gleamed from my interrogation so far. There weren't a lot of big details—nothing that would stay Winter's hand when it came time for more _advanced_ questioning—but I had uncovered a lot of small details in the way Jaune handled himself. It was quite impressive, especially for someone's first time being interrogated, and that alone gave me more clues. _Was he trained to recognize bluffs?_ It was possible, certainly considering his one confirmed accomplice and the crowd he ran around with. _If Jaune somehow came to work for Cinder, then he could be a lot better at this whole game than we realized_.

I took a mental step back to examine what had happened so far. We had been treating Jaune like he was…well, _Jaune Arc, Beacon's Most Improbable Student_ ™. That alone gave him advantages early on, and an operative of Cinder's—or Salem's, if he had connections that high—would have absolutely capitalized on those opportunities.

 _If Jaune had been trained for this—if this was their intent, to have him captured—then he would be doing an even better job_. He's been good, but more through willpower and stubbornness than through finesse and preparation.

 _No, this wasn't part of his marionette's plan._ That means that Jaune has resisted everything so far because he was inspired to do so, whether through stubbornness or willpower. There is some motivating factor that we haven't considered, some reward or goal Jaune is fighting towards that is so strong that it has turned…well, the epitome of a pushover into a man willing to shoot Ruby and then stare me dead in the eyes.

I took a new look at Jaune, eyes washing over him with a renewed perspective; one with a little more respect, if that was possible. He had found something so worthwhile that he's gone against everything he's ever stood for—more importantly, _everything that his friends ever stood for_ —and has done so seemingly without doubt.

At least, that is the option that I chose to believe. It paints the boy in the best light possible, true, but it also does feel the most likely. The other two options—that he is being blackmailed and that he has always been on _her_ side—don't make sense to me.

Sure, the kid had forged transcripts, but they were pretty bad forges. _I mean, for 'Birthday' he filled out 'Not Yet.'_ Ozpin always did have peculiar admissions, usually one or two per class, much to Glynda's dismay. I mean, he offered Ruby a spot while she was being interrogated; is it really that hard to believe that he personally allowed Jaune in his school? Because that's the only way such obviously bad transcripts would pass. Most likely, whoever first examined his transcript thought it was so laughable that it was passed around the Admissions Office as a joke, and from there made it to Ozpin. _Just a joke. "Ha ha, look at this fake transcript, Headmaster Ozpin." "I want him admitted."_ Yeah, that's probably more or less how it went down.

If nothing else, Arc's transcript was clearly not part of Cinder's group. Their fakes were flawless, to the point where some of them might have been real lives that had pretended to live for that sole purpose. Jaune's is so terrible that it rules out any chance of his involvement.

And as for blackmail, what does the kid have that would be held against him? He ran away from his family for Beacon, so clearly that isn't a strong tie. His girlfriend died already, so no one is pulling a classic threat against a loved one. Perhaps he was informed that his team would be targeted if he didn't, and he's too scared to lose anyone else? It could explain why he still hasn't broken, but that's not a very credible threat. He would have shown doubt already if that were the case. And it isn't as if they're threatening to oust him for his fake transcripts, seeing as those already came out.

 _No. Nothing else fits. There is some goal, some reward, or some achievement that he wants more than his own life._ _What could that Witch have promised him?_

Jaune had been staring back at me this whole time with the same intensity and same look in his eyes. He's been sizing me up as well, feeling out the situation and how far he has to make it before he's won this interrogation. So far, he's doing a hell of a job, and he knows it.

Suddenly, the power cut out, leaving the room pitch black for a few moments before the emergency lights cut on in lower power mode, casting a faint light on the floors and illuminating all exits. I sat completely still and focused on my senses, unsure of what I would find.

 _The engines never sputtered. Only the lights went down_.

That makes this a targeted act. Equipment malfunction wouldn't have so specifically crippled only the lights. On a whim, I turned my head towards the camera in the back corner of the room. The red light that indicates video being recorded was off, and the camera was facing the floor, indicating it did not have power.

"So…I take it Ruby made it on board, then…" Jaune stated softly and ominously, a grin spreading across his face.

As soon as his words registered within my head, I shot out the door, already screaming orders into my scroll.

"I NEED FIRST RESPONDERS TO MEDBAY ROOM 43, REPEAT ROOM 43 ASAP!" I shouted, already sprinting down the hall for the stairwell. I heard footsteps behind me, likely the other members of the Observation Room.

As I reached the stairs, I took a swan dive over the rails and down the hole in the middle of the corridor, morphing into my Crow form as I fell. Medbay was only three floors down, but it was all the way across the ship, so as I landed on the proper floor I morphed back to my normal self, slammed the door open, then launched back into flight down the hallways.

I hit stroke of luck, as the double-doors to the Medbay were being opened as a man in a lab coat walked through. I shot over his shoulder and cut across the Nurse's deck, flying down the hall as I counted door numbers.

 _40_

 _41_

 _42_

 _43_

The door was closed, so I brought myself to land as my normal self the checked the handle. If it showed even the slightest resist, whether from being locked or just being a crappy handle, I was prepared to throw my shoulder through the door. _An unlucky day for this door, and whoever has to fix it_ I absently thought.

The handle opened smoothly, and I charged in and scanned the room. Somewhere during my flight the power had come back on, and the room was illuminated by the fluorescents.

A massive weight relieved itself from my shoulders as I saw Ruby sitting up, curiously watching the people around her. The room had six Atlas soldiers already searching every inch of the room, and after a few moments they announced that they had found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Who was the first responder here?" I asked, out of breath and still quite angry.

A young woman stepped up, dressing in a standard Atlas Uniform and helmet/visor. Her weapon, also standard issue, strapped to her back. I carefully examined her, wanting to be absolutely certain that I wasn't being deceived again.

"State your name, rank, and ID number…" I commanded sternly.

"Natillo Pohen. Airship Gunner, Second Private First Class, 2nd Fleet. ID 6967654826."

I punched the ID code into my scroll and searching it through Atlas's database.

"Miss Pohen. Graduated high in your class. Specialize in…night stealth flights with the 2nd Fleet?"

Atlas's 2nd Fleet was unofficially where all of their enlisted Faunus served. No other Fleet had its own ground forces, and no other Fleet flew nearly as many night missions. The 2nd Fleet was almost Atlas's way of making a separate army where all their Faunus could serve discretely.

It was also where a lot of the Special Ops forces were classified as. Quite frankly, Special Operatives preferred fighting with Faunus because of their night-vision capabilities and the occasional use of whatever other traits they inherited. The 2nd Fleet was also largely Winter's responsibility.

"How did you get here so quickly?" I asked.

"I was stationed nearby as a standing guard. Commander's Orders."

Ah. So Winter stationed some of the forces she was familiar with nearby. _I'm going to have to thank her for that. Someday._

"Post yourself outside of this room. I'll speak to your Commander on your behalf."

She did as told, and as she left the rest of the soldiers followed her out. I finally turned my attention to Ruby.

"You okay, kiddo?"

"Yeah. I'm…good. Still have some bullet holes though…" I felt like I could finally breathe again, knowing that the threat—if there was a threat—subsided.

"I can't stay long. I've got to…well, keep the pressure on Jaune. Have you…?"

Ruby pulled up her scroll, and on it was the security footage from the interrogation room.

"Weiss set it up before she left. _Don't tell Winter that Weiss guess her password so easily_."

"Hmm…and what would that be, exactly?" I asked jokingly.

Ruby just stared me down.

"Worth a try. You women always seem to stick together…"

"What does _that_ mean?" Ruby asked, feigning offense.

"Nothing, nothing…" I answered with a chuckle. "I'm gonna get back to it. Don't you hesitate if you need _anything_. I'll have my scroll on me."

I turned to walk out the door, but stopped as Ruby's voice floated over softly and… _nervously_.

"U-uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah, kiddo?" I answered in a lower, softer tone, recognizing her shift in mood.

"I…the nurse said that I am okay to move around in a wheelchair. I can even walk short distances with some help."

"That's great, Rubes."

"I want to speak to him."

I remained silent, thinking things over while focusing on making sure my eyes stayed soft. The last thing I needed was to look like I was angry at Ruby when I was thinking about Jaune.

"I want to talk to him… _off record._ "

Past

(Jaune's POV)

Ren ducked under my right hook and popped back up behind me before I could reset myself. He yanked back on my shirt, forcing it to choke me out in the front and stumble backwards, before he stepped forwards and yanked my shirt over the top of my head then pulled down, taking my head with it. Now I was bent over with my shirt over my head, and I was so distracted by finally being able to breathe again I forgot to throw my arms up for the next blow.

It came swiftly. Ren roundhouse kicked me, knocking me sideways to the floor.

"And _that_ is why I never wear a shirt during a fist fight." Ren called out, mocking me in return for my comments earlier.

It was true; today was the first day of training in Mistral with both Yang and Weiss, and I had just thought that he was showing off his ridiculous ninja body. Seriously, marble statues envy Ren. He's easily on par with Sun if it came to just abs, but there wasn't an inch of Ren that hadn't been methodically chiseled away by years of training and a strict, healthy diet of…

Well, those weird health shakes, for one. I just prefer the old-fashioned way: eat a lot of meat and lift a lot of weights. It was simple and time-tested.

All around us, the others were engaged in similar spars. Ruby and Weiss had what looked more like a slapping contest—everyone had agreed no Semblances—and Yang and Nora were… is there a word for the cross of boxing, wrestling, mixed martial arts, and sumo? It's a sight to behold, let me tell you.

Ren offered me his hand, and I accepted. As I got to my feet, I decided to give in to Ren's logic and get rid of my own shirt.

"Alright, let's see how long it takes you _now_ …" I called out to Ren, half mocking him and half mocking myself.

Because we were just throwing punches—and whatever Nora and Yang are doing—it doesn't take much Aura upon impact, meaning we can go several rounds without really endangering anyone. It's a great combination of a cardio workout and instinct training.

I took a boxer's stance, arms out in front, waiting for Ren to make a move. He adapted a similar stance, and after a few moments he broke the stalemate. He came wide a right hook that I leaned to my left to dodge, causing his right arm to go past my right side. I thought I had pulled one over on Ren, but apparently he was baiting me, as he took the arm that had just missed and brought it back towards my head.

His elbow smacked my temple with a loud crack, and I stumbled once to my left. _There must not have been any weight behind that punch. He just wanted to throw that elbow_. As if to add insult to injury, while I was still dazed Ren reared back with his right hand and launched it towards me. The moment I regained my awareness from that elbow I looked up just in time to see Ren slap me into tomorrow. The sound of the clap reverberated around the training arena, and before I knew anything I fell to my side, cheek first.

Ren started celebrating in front of the rest of our friends, who if they didn't look over when they heard me get slapped then they definitely looked over when they heard me hit the ground. Ren held is arms out and pretend to rile up crowds, as if we were fighting like gladiators.

 _Ren, of all people, mocking me and acting goofy? How hard_ did _I get slapped?_

I quickly pushed myself to my feet—too quickly, as I felt woozy again and started to tilt. I caught myself just in time, and now with sure footing I shook my head, trying to regain my focus.

 _You'll pay for mocking me, buddy_ I thought, not maliciously but with a healthy dose of competitive spirit bubbling up.

"Let's go again!" I called out to my gladiator brethren.

"You sure? It's hard enough to fight _one_ of me, but when you're seeing double or even triple…" Ren _tsked_ at me, enjoying his brief window of gloating. He never did it often, and certainly only around those he was most comfortable with, and he made sure that he only did it to those he knew could handle it. Despite all that, he could still be an ass. But I wouldn't have done anything different in his spot.

"Just means my victory counts double!" I called out as I adopted my stance once more.

Ren came in from my right side, swinging with his left arm and I blocked it with my right arm, elbow bent vertically in good form. I used the opening to throw a punch at his gut with my left hand, but it not being my dominant hand it was sloppy and Ren was able to spin all the way around he. He parlayed the energy from that spin into a spinning kick aimed at my other, left temple, but I ducked under it.

An idea came to mind. It was really more of an instinct, but it was a plan to use Ren's arrogance against himself. _If I can learn to make my opponents pay for being better than me, then that's a skill that I can use in pretty much every fight…ever._

As I ducked under Ren's kick, I dropped my right foot back to plant off of and lunged towards Ren. He was prepared for this, and continued his spin into a true roundhouse kick that allowed me to pass under him as he spin above me, with the tail end of his kick allowing his foot to connect with my butt and knock me forwards.

But I counted on this. In truth, I had intentionally dove down and away from Ren, making it an easy choice from him to go with the roundhouse. I changed my dive into a roll and used Ren's kick to give me more momentum as I spun mid-roll to face Ren. My feet found their footing, and their sudden opposition to my momentum created tension in my legs. I was in a sprinter's starting position, facing an opponent who was still in the process of landing his airborne maneuver.

I leaped at Ren and landed a nasty right hook across his cheek as he landed, and if it weren't for his stupid ninja reflexes and balance he would have been knocked to the floor. As such, he stumbled backwards but stayed upright. _Good, I can hit you some more now._ He still hadn't recovered, and so I began my offensive.

A left jab to his gut, forcing him to keel over. I followed that with a powerful strike from my right arm, concentrating all my force into my right elbow as I swung it into the side of his head. Ren was even more dazed, so I walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders and brought a knee into his diaphragm, forcing out any air he still had. I gave him a good shove.

 _Come on, Ren, fall down. You don't want to take this next one_.

Beaten, certainly, but not broken. Ren's instincts and footwork kept him upright, meaning the fight had to continue. Ren had no guard and was still keeled over, gasping for air. I balled my fists together and swung them to my right side, then crow-hopped towards Ren. As I landed, I transitioned all my weight from behind me into my arms as I swung them together and knocked Ren upside the head, almost as if I was using my fists as a baseball bat.

Ren flew backwards and landed square on his back, a muffled _oomph_ escaping his lips.

" _Damn_." Yang called out from somewhere.

As my adrenaline wore off, I realized the room was silent. No one else was fighting. They had all congregated in one spot, watching Ren and me. After a few moments, I realized why.

Ren is a walking marble statue, and I'm over six feet tall and can stop a Grimm horse. And we're both boxing shirtless.

A quick scan of our spectators' faces confirmed my suspicions. Yang clearly wasn't hiding how much fun she had watching our fight. Nora, though upset Ren just got smacked across the room, still seemed to smirk at the other girls. Ruby was clearly enjoying the fighting part of our fight, but the slight blush suggested she wasn't planning on looking away regardless. Even Weiss seemed impressed and almost a little skeptical, like she didn't believe what she was seeing.

Never one to miss a moment, I began pumping up Ren's imaginary crowds from earlier specifically to mock him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ren stir and lean up, just in time to see me flexing my biceps and posing for the fake audience. _I wonder what our real audience is thinking_.

I walked over to Ren and helped him up, then we both walked over to the group.

"You think we should start selling tickets?" I asked with a devilish grin. In fact, I was doing my best Yang impersonation.

Yang matched my grin as she realized my set up. Weiss noticed Yang noticing, and tried to shut it down.

"Please. For the love of god, you two. _No one respond to him_!"

After a few moments, Ruby's curiosity couldn't be helped.

"Tickets for what?"

A quick glance to Yang told me all I needed. With no rehearsal whatsoever, she knew exactly what to do.

" _For the Gun Show_!" Yang called out dramatically, as I turned to Ren and brought back my biceps-flex pose to be even more obnoxious.

Ren refused to move his head or turn his gaze my direction, taking it all with a disappointed frown.

"Alright. You've made your point." Ren stated flatly.

"Are you sure? Need me to write it down for you?" I asked obnoxiously, not even waiting for a response. I pantomimed writing on my hand, then handed the invisible note to Yang.

"That can't be right. All this says is _Jaune Kicked Ren's Ass_!" Yang shouted.

I gave Yang a big high five. Ren still hadn't moved deemed me worthy of him moving his head to look at me.

"Oh my god Ruby, what have you done? There are _two of them now_!" Weiss called out, straddling the line between being horrified and pretending to be horrified.

"Oh hush, you're just mad that Cape Girl mopped the floor with you." I called back quickly.

Weiss's eyes went wide as dinner plates as if she had never expected me, of all people, to shut her down.

"Literally, if I recall correctly…" Yang added on, prodding Weiss's arm with her finger.

"Ugh…" Weiss huffed. "It's just that…"

" _Ugh, it's just that this makes no sense. When am I, Queen Weiss Schnee, ever going to fight without a weapon?! What am I, a peasant? I have people who fight without weapons for me, thank you very much!_ " I cut Weiss of by doing my best Weiss impersonation.

In all honesty, it was a really mean (and terrible) impersonation.

But like, it was also _really_ funny to everyone there not named Schnee.

As we all walked off to the snack room—because be honest, that's the most important thing about training—I grabbed my scroll out of the temporary lockers. For a moment, I thought that Weiss had sent me a text, until I read the name more closely.

 _Ice Cream: Nice fight. Bring those moves tomorrow night and you just might pull this off…_

 _Me: how did you_

 _Me: Are you here right now?_

I spun around, scanning the area for anything suspicious, but didn't see anything. Over on the far side of the gym were other students using the work out machines, but they were too far away to discern identities. Neo could have watched from over there and already been gone by now.

 _Ice Cream: If you smack Mercury like you smacked Ren, then I think we could be good friends…_


	8. A Date With Destiny or someone else

**Author's Note: Possible crack pairing warning.**

 **Looking back on this story, Ren's POV was used a lot to observe the interrogation scenes. I wonder if that could be significant...**

* * *

 **Author's Note 2: To clarify, Ren x Jaune is NOT in any way a pairing here. That was just poor spacing on my part in that last Author's Note...**

* * *

Past

(Jaune's POV)

The alarm on my scroll went off, telling me it was time to start the day. Deep down, I know that I'm lucky to get up as late as 9:30 every morning, but waking up sucks no matter what time it is. I reached over and turned off my alarm, before rolling onto my back and staring at the ceiling, trying to picture what my schedule for the day is.

 _Alright, so I've got a training session in thirty minutes, and at this time of day it shouldn't be too crowded, so I might just get lucky enough to have a solo session for once. After that I'll grab an early lunch and make sure to stuck up on proteins and water, just in case the meeting tonight goes…poorly. After lunch, I don't have any responsibilities, so I guess I can spend the day alone preparing myself for tonight_.

With my mental schedule for the day set, I found it easier to get up and get going. After all, I had a checklist to complete and a plan to follow. Life's a lot harder when you have to motivate yourself without any clear goals. _And I am certainly not lacking for goals._

I grabbed a light breakfast bar as I headed out the door for the training center. Since now there were six of us between teams JN_R and RW_Y, we were able to get some spare dorm rooms from Haven Academy assigned to us. Because of that, I was only a few minutes from the Academy's training arena that we had been using, so I intentionally to a longer route and jogged the whole thing. It had become a habit, as it both served as some cardio (that I needed, sorely) and a warm-up for the training I would be doing.

I slipped in and put my things in a locker, and as I did so I scanned the area to see if there was anyone here that was going to ruin my plans for a simple, solo workout. I didn't see anyone, and I let out a sigh of relief as I put Crocea Mors into the locker and started mapping out my workout routine. _I can do some core strengthening, then go lift some free-weights before circling back around to a second ab workout, and then I can do a little leg wor—_

" _Hey Jaune_!" Yang's voice called out from behind me, causing me to go still for a moment out of panic. "What are you doing for lunch?"

I turned around to face my questioner, and she barely hid a large smirk at her own words.

"I'm…going to eat it?" I answered cautiously, very obviously nervous with whatever Yang was getting at.

"So you're saying you don't have plans?" She asked leadingly, still smirking but now also giving me a knowing look.

 _I don't like where this is going at all._

"N-not really…"

"Well, you do now! Ever been on a _blind date_?"

"No, I can't say that I have. That would require that someone was able to be convinced to go on a date with me after hearing me described…" I answered back sarcastically, hoping it would throw Yang off track.

"Well, not necessarily. I could blackmail someone into it…" She answered back so nonchalantly that I actually think she may have blackmailed someone.

"Well then, you must really hate them if you want to set them up with _me_ …" I answered back, again hoping Yang would take the hint that this was a BAD IDEA.

"Good one! Would you rather do sushi or pizza?"

"Yang, you _can't_ be serious about this. You actually think you can set me up on a successful blind date?"

"We'll find out by lunch, won't we?" Yang answered by slyly, evidently enjoying watching me squirm.

I was preparing all the arguments for why I would not, under any circumstances, go along with this, when a thought crossed my mind: _who could Yang be setting me up with?_ It isn't like she's been here very long, only a day or two. How could she already have someone that, not only would she think makes a decent pairing with me (which is hard enough as is), but that she could convince them to go through with this? Unless…

 _Unless its someone she knew_ before _coming to Mistral_. That would narrow it down to, well, three people: Ruby, Weiss, and herself.

 _And none of those make any sense_. Yang is more likely to kill me for looking at Ruby wrong than she is to actively set me up with her. And I'm not even certain Yang could _drag_ Weiss to a date with me, and if it was a double-blind date, I'm not certain whether Weiss would attack Yang or me when she saw that I was the other party. _Is Yang trying to ask me out?!_

"Yang, are you…trying to ask me out?" I asked. It was only _after_ I said it that I realized it could be the last words I ever say.

"Me? You wish, _vomit-boy_." Yang replied jokingly. "If I was after you, you would know it and wouldn't be able to refuse."

"Somehow, I believe that."

"Jaune, I know what you're gonna say…" Yang started, her joking manner dropping off as she prepared to hammer her points through until I agreed.

"You know what, I'll do it." I answered, my own curiosity getting the better of me. "On one condition."

"Name it."

I looked down at Yang's hands, and a plan formed in my head. _She doesn't have her weapons, and her hands are taped up like a boxer's. Maybe I can make this workout session even shorter, and save more energy for the fight tonight._

"Sparring match. No weapons, no semblances. If you win, I'll go."

"And if you win?" She replied, a grin already spreading across her face.

"Let's be honest, here. _That's not going to happen_ …"

* * *

Present

(Qrow's POV)

I reached forward and tapped on the glass to let Ruby know that all microphones were off, and that her two minutes had started. She sat across from Jaune stiffly, obviously trying not to aggravate her wounds.

"I can't believe you think this is a good idea, Qrow." Winter stated flatly from my side.

"If anyone has earned a chance to grill the boy, it's Ruby." I stated back just as flat while trying to hide the obvious doubts I also held about the situation.

I promised her that she could have two minutes with him off the record, and after that I was coming back in there. She would be free to stay, and I kind of hope she does, since so far her presence has really seemed to bother Jaune.

" _Keep your head down. Don't make eye contact." Ruby muttered softly to Jaune from across the table._

It's a lot more difficult to live with your actions when they're staring you in the face. If Jaune is still a decent person, then from here on in he should be a lot easier to crack. Whatever his motivation is, there is no way that his conviction doesn't waver after staring into Ruby's giant, silver, guilt-inducing eyes. I've never seen someone pull off the 'wounded puppy' look better than her.

" _I saw the power go out. I take it you…had a fun talk?" Jaune replied, still not raising his eyes to meet her. "Did she get out okay?"_

" _Yes." Ruby answered back, trying to sound angry and bitter to hide her inner confusion. "I have a message from her."_

I wonder what they're talking about. Two minutes isn't very long in the grand scheme of things, but I bet it couldn't go any slower for Jaune right now. I wonder if Ruby if drilling him for attacking her, or if she's taking the high route and begging him to let her help him. That sounds more like Ruby anyways, always trying to find the best in others. Even when she has no reason to suspect that they have anything worth saving.

" _She said that your plan…your_ other _plan…just might work. It's all up to chance, now." Ruby stated, watching Jaune intently to measure his reaction._

Whatever she said, it caught his attention, and he finally looked up and made eye contact with her. There's a steely fire in his eyes, but it is only faintly there, hidden behind his distant gaze.

" _Chance… just another word for_ Destiny _…" Jaune answered quietly. Though he looked Ruby in the eyes, his words were directed to no one in particular. "There's no such thing."_

" _Jaune, I don't know what you've gotten yourself into, but you need to get out. These people…_ that woman _…she's dangerous."_

Jaune isn't as awkward as I had hoped. Ever since he finally looked up at Ruby, I haven't seen any major flashes of doubt or guilt in his eyes, nor have I seen him slump his shoulders. Is it possible that he can look Ruby dead in the eyes and _not_ regret what he did?

" _Ironically, she's the reason that you're alive." Jaune stated back with a dark chuckle._

" _What do you mean?"_

" _I-Ironwood was not the first target, Ruby. Why would someone send_ me _to kill a general?"_

Atta girl, Ruby. Now you've got him monologuing, something we were unable to do for a while now. It would be nice if that timer would run out sometime sooner so we could record this, but at least someone is getting some intel out of him.

" _You mean…_ I _was your target?" Ruby answered, eyes wide with shock._

" _You were the logical choice. Your head is worth the most right now, too, and I already had the connections. I…I might have considered it, but Neo would have refused to help me if I killed you before she got a chance to meet you."_

Ruby is slowly saying less and less. That's probably a good sign for us, as it means that Jaune is talking more to keep the conversation up and it also means that whatever he's telling her is important. The down side is that Ruby might be watching her friend explain exactly how he betrayed her.

" _It took Ironwood, a sabotage job, and a data-hack to make up for refusing to kill you, Ruby."_

" _Then why did you attack me?"_

" _Chance."_

"I don't like this, Qrow. How much longer do they have?" Asked Winter.

"I've got the timer. Leave it to me, Ice Queen."

The room went quiet again, everyone focusing on the two in the interrogation room, carrying on a silent conversation through the glass.

"Winter…did you put a guard on Ruby's med bay room earlier?"

" _Quite simply, Rubes, you showed up at the wrong time and I couldn't afford any eye witnesses. I needed as much time as I could get, so I had to do something about you."_

" _So you weren't…_ trying _to kill me?"_

 _Jaune paused and a slight frown ghosted over his lips_

" _If I had killed you right there, then I would have broken my deal with Neo to let her have a meeting with you. And if I broke that deal, then everything I've done would have been for nothing."_

Jaune let out a sigh, taking a pause between whatever story he was telling Ruby. If nothing else, she had really gotten him to be talkative. Although for all I know, she could be talking to Jaune about weapon design or cookies.

" _All that being said, that was the second time I had ever fired a gun. I picked one with no safety because I don't know how to turn it off. I didn't even practice my aim. When I pulled the trigger…"_

Ten seconds left. Just keep him talking Ruby.

" _Well, like I said…_ Chance. _"_

* * *

Past

(Weiss' POV)

I walked into the small café and looked around until my eyes spotted the back of Jaune's head. I took a deep breath to ready myself, before walking over and sitting down across from him. As he looked up from his scroll, I saw his eyes go as wide as dinner plates.

"What, expecting someone else?" I teased.

"W-what? Oh, no. Well maybe. How did…?" Jaune stuttered, completely unable to form coherent sentences. " _Weiss, what does Yang have on you?_ "

"What do you mean? I'm not being blackmailed!" I answered with a hint of indignation. "I'll have you know that I actually agreed to this without any sort of pressure."

 _I probably shouldn't tell him how I asked Yang to set this up. I'm not certain he could handle it_.

Jaune stared at me as if he either didn't believe me, or was struggling to figure out how I was lying.

"Is it really _that_ hard to believe?" I asked, still teasing him a little.

"I'm pretty sure the last time I tried to make this happen you threatened a restraining order. And a lawsuit."

"And I threatened to put a hit out on you. Don't forget that part." I filled in, casually taking a sip of the water sitting at the table.

"What's changed?" Jaune asked, finally starting to settle into his seat.

 _You. That's why I'm so curious._

"I guess a lot has changed for us both. For one, I was...well, somewhere between demoted and disowned by my father."

Jaune's eyes went wide again, but he kept his cool and didn't make a scene like I half-expected him to.

"You were what?" He asked quietly, trying not to draw any attention.

"My father decided that my younger brother was…better suited to be the heir of the SDC."

"Wow. I'm sorry I asked; I didn't realize…" Jaune trailed off, unsure of how to handle such a situation.

"No, it's fine. I should have seen it coming. My father and I have never agreed on anything, be it my future or how the company should be run. If anything, I should be surprised it took him this long…"

Jaune never responded, and he looked like he was searching for something to say. I can't say I blame him; I did put him in an awkward position. In fact, the Jaune I knew at Beacon probably would have tried to make a lame joke or desperately change the topic.

"But I'm not the only one that's changed, though…" I rescued Jaune, giving him a trail into a new topic.

"Really? What do you mean?" Jaune asked. I can't tell if he is truly oblivious, or if he is just playing me into talking more about why I'm here. I'm tempted to say that he's oblivious, but…there's something about him I can't put my finger on.

"I don't know, there's just something different about how you carry yourself now that I can't put my finger on…"

That was a lie. I know exactly what it is, or at least, I know exactly what it is that I don't know about him.

 _There's someone completely different inside of you, Jaune. A hidden strength and power that I couldn't see before. In fact, the only person who saw it was Pyrrha. But I'm starting to see glimpses of what she saw in you, Jaune, and I'm curious._

"Well anyways, I've been meaning to ask…how did you guys get access to Haven Academy's facilities so quickly? It seems like you already have the run of the place…"

"Oh that. Well, that's an embarrassing story, actually…" Jaune trailed off, chuckling softly to himself.

"Well in that case, I can't _wait_ to hear it…" I teased. I made eye contact with Jaune, and he caught on to the joke and starting to smile just a little.

* * *

"So, this guy just wanted a drink on the one night his wife let him go out, and now he's stuck walking my _completely wasted_ ass all the way back to his house. He gets there and his wife is chewing him out for A: getting a minor hammered, and B: for bring home someone to sleep it off." Jaune paused his story, letting the words sink in.

"Oh my gosh, please tell me you did _not_ throw up in his house!" I pleaded while stifling my laughter. This story is supposed to be embarrassing for Jaune, but _I_ feel embarrassed just imagining the situation and Jaune is enjoying telling the story much more than he should be.

"Not quite. That guy ended up as one of the men in charge of the city's defense, as well as a part-time professor for Haven…" Jaune answered with a smirk.

"No way! What are the odds?"

"It gets worse!" Jaune answered with a chuckle. "So they let me sleep upstairs in their kid's old room. So I wake up in the morning so hungover I thought I was dying, and start exploring the place when I see this photograph of their family…"

Jaune trailed off, and I subconsciously leaned, waiting for the big reveal.

"And in the middle of that family photo was one _Pyrrha Nikos_ …"

My jaw dropped and I slapped my hand over it to stifle any noise that tried to escape.

"WHAT?! Nooooo…" I whispered loudly. "That's…that's…"

 _Terrible. That had to be one of the worst moments of his life._

"It's hysterical, I know!" Jaune answered with a laugh that surprised me.

 _Is he…okay with this? This story was supposed to be embarrassing and even painful for him, and he…doesn't seem affected._

"That's awful!...but it is pretty funny." I admitted.

 _You aren't the same boy that obsessed over me at Beacon anyone, Jaune Arc. To be honest, I don't know who you are._

"Jaune Arc, Alcoholic in Training?" I asked jokingly. Jaune choked on his drink.

"Gah, I hope not. That was awful…" Jaune replied.

 _You're much stronger than anyone knows, even you. And you hide what strength you do have. Most people would want to show off that they aren't the same person as before, especially when that person was_ you _. But you still hide behind who you were, projecting weakness to hide how strong you really are. Why? What do you have to hide from? Are you just_ trying _to be mysterious?_

"Well, just make sure you don't end up like Ruby's uncle…" I tossed out a warning, but only half meant it.

"Yeah, that guy. I'm not sure what I think about him…"

"What do you mean?"

 _Your personality betrays the strength you're hiding. You aren't the same insecure boy you used to be. Now, there's an ever-so-slight air of confidence behind your actions. You still play the part of the fool, but now it doesn't seem like you mind it…or maybe even you're trying to. You're also a lot surer of yourself. You don't spend your time chasing after me or even worrying what I would think; you've grown out of that phase, thank god. Very quietly, and very secretly, you've developed a strong sense of self-worth, or maybe just self-confidence._

"Well, he does _seem_ like a good uncle, but he used Ruby as bait. I don't know what it would take for me to put my friends in harm's way like that…" Jaune stated quietly. For a moment, he looked like he had something to add to the end, but he never said it.

"Well, my only experience with him was watching him bait my sister into a brawl. But…Ruby adores the man. And you know what they say about children and dogs…"

"That they pee everywhere?"

"What? No! That they judge chara—" I cut myself off when I caught the look on Jaune's face and realized he made a joke. And he got me, too.

 _Ruby, Ren, and Nora don't see it. To them, you're only just getting back to your old self after what happened at Beacon. But Yang and I haven't had to watch you get through it, and we both can see it. There's a man hiding behind the boy._

 _And I'm curious about him._

* * *

Past

(Jaune's POV)

 _Clear your head, Jaune. What happened earlier is irrelevant if you make a mistake here and get killed_.

I looked down at my scroll, following the directions that I had received from Neo.

 _Ice Cream:_ _. That will give you the coordinates. Come alone._

It was leading me into a sketchy part of town—not that I should be surprised—and I was becoming more and more nervous with every step I took. My left hand fell instinctively to the grip of Crocea Mors, finding some solace in the familiarity.

I one more turn up ahead, and then the destination was in front of me: a street corner with some nearby construction.

 _I don't like this_. I walked to the exact spot shown on the map. _The noise nearby would make it easy to misidentify the direction of a gunshot. If they wanted to take me out, a sniper could easily do it right here._

I was two minutes early, and as such I had 120 seconds of just waiting in the middle of a bad part of town for bad people to pick me up so I could convince them I could help them do bad things.

 _Man, I am so glad I put on deodorant._

"Hey buddy…" a deep voice from behind me came. My heart skipped a beat, but I somehow stopped myself from jumping higher than the telephone poll nearby. "Could you settle a bet for us?"

Two men, both wearing construction workers' overalls covered in grease stains walked towards me from the construction site they were at. I released the breath that I didn't even realize I was holding.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Does this rag smell like chloroform to you?" He asked as he started to hold out the rag to me.

"Does this rag smell like wh—" I started, but stopped when he jerked forward and covered my face with the towel.

I fought to hold my breath for as long as I could, but having just done so I hadn't ever gotten my breath back and it wasn't long before the world faded to black*. I slumped to the ground, where I was caught by the other man before being lifted into a black van that had driven up next to us.

* * *

 _*See next chapter's Author's Note..._


	9. Chapter with Too Many Small Time Skips

**Author's Note: Here is the original Author's Note, nearly untouched:**

 _Alright, so as pointed out by an anon named "Scientist", a very reliable source, chloroform takes approximately 15 minutes to take full effect. So, to my readers that were offended that I was sorely lacking in my ability to write a realistic kidnapping scene, I offer two explanations and leave it to you to choose which one you like more:_

 _1 – Remnant, just like real life, has more than one form of chloroform. The two main ones I know are chloroform and deuterated chloroform. Chloroform is CHCl3 while deuterated chloroform is CDCl3. So, excuse 1—I mean explanation 1—is that in RWBY, CDCl3 stands for dust chloroform, which is super-fast acting. 😃_

 _2 – Excuse 2, if you choose to believe it, is that your dear beloved fanfiction author Ikedawg43 has never used chloroform to incapacitate and kidnap someone. Now, this one does sound like a lame excuse, as it would mean I only know of chloroform's kidnapping purposes through TV and movies…_

 _I wonder which one it is…_

 _Totally going with option 1, personally. Believe it or not, I actually have worked with chloroform…in a lab setting. It makes a good solvent for 1H-NMR Spectroscopy, and deuterated chloroform even more so. However, we are discouraged from trying to knock out other occupants of the lab, so I never used it any further than taking the world's greatest creepy Tinder profile picture: backwards douchebag hat, lab googles, neck beard, and a bottle of toxic chloroform._

 _Also, to the anon Scientist who pointed it out, thanks for letting me know! I will plan my future excursions accordingly. I wonder why no one ever told me about how to properly use chloroform, so…_

* * *

Past

(Jaune's POV)

I slowly began to regain consciousness. Apparently, it was too slow for _someone's_ liking, as I got a few like jabs in the side by a foot.

After a few moments to process, I jolted awake and made an effort to survey my surroundings. I'm on my back lying on concrete and the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes were distant lights on a ceiling. They looked like the type of fixtures used to save power in warehouses, and a quick scan of my sides revealed that I was in an empty warehouse.

Well, empty of things that belonged in a warehouse. Off in the distance, almost in a loose circle around me, were intermingled thugs that were simultaneously watching me and ignoring me. A few feet in front of me were the two from the other day—Neo and Mercury.

"Oh good, he's awake. Let's kill him." Mercury deadpanned, though not with as much sarcasm as I would have liked. If he were a little more sarcastic, I would be able to know that he was kidding.

"Okay…so, you kidnapped me and brought me to an empty warehouse? Not exactly what I expected from the evening…"

"So here's the deal, dipshit. We've done our homework on you and all of your little friends. _We're not impressed_ …" Mercury began coldly. Neo cut her eyes at Mercury just slightly; not enough to make me think she thought more highly of me, but just enough to tell me she didn't see eye to eye with him. "… _unless you've been holding something back_ , we just don't see any way you could have _anything_ for us."

A chill ran down my spine as I weighed Mercury's words, and more importantly, his tone. Bored, slightly resentful, and thinly-veiled irritation. _He doesn't want to be here. He thinks he has better things to do, and more significantly, that I'm wasting his time._

 _But if both of them are here, surrounded by a gang for reinforcements, then_ someone _thinks I could be worth the risk_.

I turned my gaze to Neo, trying to see what cues I could read from her. _She's…difficult._ Her posture was relaxed, almost too much so, as she leaned back with her umbrella held against her shoulder. Everything I've heard from Yang and Ruby suggested this was normal behavior for her, and her smirk told me nothing.

"So if you _aren't_ a waste of my time, then you're going to have to convince me."

I locked eyes with Mercury as he let the words hang in the air for me to interpret.

"Let me see if I have this right; you, Mercury Black, a finalist from the Vytal Festival who threw a match against Yang Xiao Long, are going to _fight_ _me_ to get me to defect?"

Neo acted offended, making a show of it with her arms and a shrug of her shoulders.

"And Neo. Don't forget that."

I cocked my head to the side slightly as I took in that information. Mercury smirked at the uncertain look on my face.

" _And_ Neo, who nearly killed Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose without breaking a sweat. I would have hated to leave _that_ part out…" I spat back sarcastically. Neo's smirk deepened a little at my dig at Mercury.

"Should I even ask what point making me fight you two proves?" I asked despondently as I began mentally preparing myself for a fight.

I got no answer, only a flat glare from Mercury.

"Also, just gonna throw it out there I don't have a semblance, so like, if y'all felt like _not_ using yours, I would appreciate it."

Two flat glares this time. _Something tells me this isn't going to be a clean spar. Either I win, or no one finds my body._

And isn't that just a cheery thought to pump yourself up, huh?

"Alright, fine…" I huffed out while drawing my sword, leaving my shield on my hip in sheath-form for the moment. "Bring it on, Captain Kicky."

* * *

A Tiny Bit Further into The Past, Like Maybe a Few Days or So…

(Jaune's POV)

With our plan set, Ruby and I snuck up on our target. All we had to do is ambush him simultaneously. It was so _simple_ , really. A great way to win this stupid bet. After all, the terms of the bet only said that I had to beat Mr. Nikos while he was anywhere within the confines of the sparring mats. I was allowed—nay, encouraged—to ambush him, catch him off-guard, and choose the landscape I wanted. There was _nothing_ that prohibited me from hiring some extra muscle to help me out.

And really, I had expected Ruby to ask for at least double digit cookies. She must have given me the _I-still-feel-guilty-about-letting-Pyrrha-die-and-am-worried-about-you-so-I'll-do-anything-to-make-sure-you-know-you-have-friends-that-care-about-you_ discount. Coming from anyone else, I would have been oblivious to that fact, but this is _Ruby_ we're talking about. Even I could pick up on that.

She had even agreed to use a basic sword from the training rack. She had technically been trained in swordplay by Qrow, so we figured if I was going to bend the rules of the bet, then the least I could do is make it a true sword-fight.

Her blade was simple, having been designed with the sole purpose of being used to teach swordplay. It didn't really have a true form it was molded in. It was just a sword, plain and simple. It was shorter and lighter than mine, but Ruby's speed meant that was probably ideal.

Ahead, our target leaned against a watercooler, having a quick drink to cool off. He was _technically_ still on the training rack, and he even had his back to us, so I motioned to Ruby to approach slowly. With swords drawn, we crept our way up to him, and once I got close enough I jumped up to bring my sword straight down. I was hoping to take a decent chunk out of his aura and really hamper his fighting right from the start, but the infamous _Jaune Arc luck_ held true as a random shield propped up against an exercise machine was polished enough to show a rough reflection.

In an instant, Mr. Nikos had drawn his sword and spun around to deflect the blow coming from overhead, buying him enough time to roll away from us.

"Ah, so you think this is your best option?" Mr. Nikos called out with a grin, alluding to my 2v1 approach.

"Well, Ruby's a heck of a fighter, so I guess me helping her beat you is my best option here."

"I don't know if I would say _helping_ so much as like, uh, moral support?" Ruby teased lightly.

"Oh, and here I thought you were _trying_ to make this easier for me…No offense, Ruby."

"Uh…unless you countered my offer, I'm pretty sure the odds are stacked in _my_ favor here…" I countered.

"Well, would you care to _double_ the bet and end it with this fight?"

 _No. No I do NOT care for that. He clearly has something up his sleeve._

"Sure." Ruby called out before I could cover her mouth with my hand. "That means I get twice the cookies, right?"

"Only if we win, Rubes."

"Well then…" Mr. Nikos stated loudly to regain our attention. He shifted into a defensive stance, equipping his shield and putting away one of his swords. He could have combined the two symmetrical swords into one larger sword, but he was clearly banking on speed and defense. "Bring it on, then."

* * *

A Super Small Jump Forward, But Still in the Past. Let's Say Like a Minute Later 

(Also, POV Swap to 3rd Person, But Just for This Scene…)

Jaune Arc laid sprawled out on the training mat. His hoodie was now backwards on his chest—his arms in the correct holes to be wearing the hoodie backwards—and the hood pulled over his face. He liked to think the soft cloth made the blow to his face hurt slightly less, but somewhere between the third and fourth punch he went a little numb and tumbled backwards.

Off in the distance, Ruby's cape was pinned to the wall with Crocea Mors, with a very grumpy Ruby pouting as she dangled lazily. It was fortunate that she ensured that all her capes attached to her shoulders to that they wouldn't choke her during moments like this. As she hung, cross-armed and frowning, she slowly spun in circles, tangling her cape and then untangling it as she spun back the other direction.

Hanging from the sword that pinned her cape 15 feet up the wall were Jaune's underwear. Neither Ruby or Jaune are really certain how _that_ happened.

"Care to take a guess how that happened?" Mr. Nikos called out with a chuckle to neither of his two opponents in particular.

"Divine intervention?" Jaune mumbled weakly.

"Witchcraft?" Ruby called back, still upset to be hanging.

"Nope. It's because fighting together actually makes you less likely to win against a good _defensive_ opponent unless you are very, very practiced in fighting together. More often than not, you just get in the way of each other or make each other nervous that you'll hit your partner. It takes years and total trust and faith in a partner before you can truly fight together and overwhelm a superior duelist.

"And on top of that, as a defensive fighter you just made it easy for me. With two different opponents, I don't have time to overthink or get lost in my own plans. I have to react to survive. I have to use the least amount of energy possible to block, dodge, and deflect, and I have to be quick about it. I have to stay inside my guard and let the fight come to me. To many, this is overwhelming. But if you can stay calm, you'll find that the pressure and concentration needed puts you in touch with your instincts. Your mind calms, your muscles loosen, your reactions quicken, your motions become more fluid, and you feel at ease. A true calm within the storm. Once you find that rhythm, there are only a handful of opponents I've ever seen who can beat you."

"Cool story. WILL SOMEONE GET ME DOWN?!"

* * *

You Know What, Let's Just Resume the Fight with Neo and Mercury. I'm Tired of Keeping Track of Time Skips.

I don't have time to glance down at my scroll to check my aura— _oh wait, they took my scroll anyways_ —but I'm confident it would be hovering at 60% right now.

A kick came in from the left, aiming for my head. I ducked under it but didn't have time to strike back against Mercury as Neo went for a leg sweep with her umbrella to my right. Since I was crouched, I didn't have time to jump, so I stabbed my sword in my right hand down to the concrete and blocked the blow as it came. With a small window left, and used the tension in my legs from the couch to lunge towards Neo, shoulder-first. She dodged, but not completely and I knocked her slightly to my right. As I passed her, I parlayed my shoulder bash into a leaping roll to create some separation.

If I had to guess, I would say that Mercury's aura was in the 80s range. I remember from the Vytal Festival that he didn't usually take damage from the blows his feet dealt, but I can see him grimace whenever I fully block a kick with my shield, so he's been slowly chipping himself down. Not nearly as much as I have been, though.

And there's still Neo over here with probably like 98%. That shoulder bash that grazed her was the first time I touched her, and I'm pretty sure she took more damage by falling on the ground afterwards than from the graze itself.

 _Think. Form a plan. Play them against themselves. Find that rhythm. Plan out a strike that will get you back in this fight, and do everything necessary to land that blow._

A plan came to mind. It would put me at a disadvantage at first, but it might force me to truly rely on my instincts and get into a groove. And, if it worked properly, might let me put a big slash in Neo's aura.

I folded my shield into a sheathe and returned it to my hip. Mercury and Neo hitched for a step, watching my new development with intensity. They knew I was trying something new, and they didn't look concerned. If anything, they look liked they smelled blood in the water.

I bent my left arm at the elbow and held it out parallel to the ground and then rested my sword on top of my arm, with the blade pointing towards Neo. This kept Mercury just to the right of the blade and firmly within my vision. It wasn't a form I was used too—or had ever used—but it was one I had seen before. _And what better time to try something I had no clue how to use_ …

Neo charged first, swinging to my left in an obvious set-up blow to force me towards Mercury. I stepped slightly to the right to avoid the blow, then lunged to stab straight out with my sword. However, instead of aiming for her head, I aimed slightly to the right of her head, baiting her to parry the blow towards Mercury. She reacted instinctively and parried like I had hoped she would, forcing my blade towards Mercury and away from herself but leaving her lower left half exposed.

Having planned this strike, I stepped towards Neo with my left foot as soon as she began her parry. My right foot drop stepped behind my left, beginning to spin me. I used Neo's added force on my blade to swing it in a wide arc towards Mercury, successively swiping at his stomach, drawing it muffled yelp and forcing him to readjust his direction away from the sharp steel blade cutting away at his aura.

I cut that arc short once it had dealt its blow and brought my sword in close to my body to accelerate my spin. Before she could react, I had gotten my back to face Neo's side. I put the rest of my weight into the spin and ended up behind her just as my elbow brought the culmination of the force of my spin, my weight, and the weight of my sword into the back of Neo's head. A brutal blow that would stagger her while I pressed the fight with Mercury.

I took two steps towards Mercury as my hands dropped low and to my right, preparing a large upper diagonal swipe. Mercury had recovered from earlier but hadn't had a chance to reset himself, and he was still jumpy from being caught off-guard. He began to side-step the blow that I hadn't actually started to swing, so instead of swinging I took another step towards him, bringing us inches apart, and brought my left elbow up to catch him under the nose. It had the added bonus of the energy I had been building up for my swing, not to mention the stun-factor of a blow landed to the nose.

Mercury began to stumble backwards but I wouldn't let him get away. I stepped forwards to match his pace. With my hands now above my body after my elbow-strike, I quickly brought the pommel into Mercury's forehead—another quick, stunning blow.

With Mercury now stumbling backwards blindly, I had once chance for a free blow. Knowing it _had_ to be big enough to incapacitate him, I took a wide spin and took a large, nearly 360 degree upper-diagonal swing with my sword. I mentally cheered as I saw it land unblocked on his chest, knocking him down. Somewhere between landing the blow and Mercury falling down, I saw his aura—a dark gray, go figure—fizzle and shatter.

I dropped my arms to my side, catching my breath and trying to come to grips with what had just happened. _That was awesome, but it feels like I'm forgetting something_.

 _Oh. Yeah. THAT_.

I felt a tug at my sword, and before I knew it Neo had snuck up to my side and hooked it with her umbrella to yank it from me. My gripped tightened as she began to yank against it, but without warning I let my grip slacken and the sword flew out of my hand and bounced across the ground. Neo was _not_ prepared for me to let her yank the sword away, and stumbled backwards from the weight she had thrown around. She didn't panic, however, as she was just out of arms reach, and my sword was a good ten feet away now.

I chuckled. This plan was going to work.

I reached down with my right hand and grasped the top of my sheath. _Ruby once pointed out that even though it folds up, it still weighs the same. It is a very study shield, after all. It's just a large hunk of heavy, sturdy metal in the basic shape of a sword. Not great in a duel, but…_

With a small twist of my wrist, my sheath disconnected from my belt. _…just like a shield, if your opponent doesn't consider how much damage it could do…_

I twisted my hips as I swung the sheath—again in an upper-diagonal arc; it's worked so far, so why quit now—and savored the glimpse of shock in Neo's eyes. Honestly, I would be shock to get pimp-slapped by Jaune Arc's sheath, too.

… _then your opponent will soon learn what it feels like when it smacks them upside the head._

The smack that resounded as the sheath connected with Neo's face was sickening, to the point where the previously-silent crowd could be heard recoiling from the collision. For such a small opponent, that's not a blow that can be brushed off easily.

Again, I let my arms fall to my side and tried to catch my breath, but this time it wasn't part of my plan. If I _had_ planned on that working, then right now my plan would say "celebrate obnoxiously." Unfortunately, I was too distracted marveling at my victory to really think of any victory dance or taunt that felt appropriate.

I turned in a circle to survey the crowd, who all held shocked faces. A few of them cheered—or rather, leered at Mercury and Neo.

I continued spinning around and watching the crowd, until I spun far enough to catch a glimpse of Mercury's leg spinning mid-air. About a foot from my face and rapidly approaching.

 _Right. That's what I forgot_.

Boot met face. Face met floor. Lights out.

Present

(Qrow's POV)

It didn't strike me odd that Ruby didn't want to speak about her conversation with Jaune in front of her friends. They were all emotional—and they had every right to be—and even though she knows it isn't directed at her at all, the confused hostility in the air wasn't exactly something that encouraged her to share. After all, Jaune quite likely lashed out and said things meant to hurt or confuse Ruby. Whether he meant them or not, I can't say, but after being shot by the man there is no telling what state of mind Ruby may be in.

That's why it didn't even surprise me when Ruby didn't want to tell her dear favorite uncle what they had talked about, far away from the others in a much warmer and friendlier setting. Not that a hospital room was exactly the most comfortable place, but it was a good sight better than the observation room.

What did surprise me, however, was that Ruby would try to _lie_ to me about what they had talked about.

" _He just…he was bragging about the fight with me. He tried to insult my Crescent Rose."_

It was believable. No one would bat an eye that it bothered Ruby that someone would _dare_ insult her baby. Her team would have not only fallen for the lie, but have rallied behind it.

But for all her playfulness and naivety, Ruby Rose had the thickest skin of anyone he had ever known. She was what, like, 15— _side note, I need to ask Yang discretely to put reminders for their birthdays a month ahead of time so I have time to buy gifts—_ and the only thing that had ever rattled her was Penny's death. And now that that had shaken her, she would be even stronger.

There is no way that a simple insult would put her in such a…abnormal state. Even if it was about the World's Second Greatest Scythe™.

Which begged the question: _what could Jaune have said to get Ruby to lie_ for _him?_


	10. The Devil Sells You A Soul(for a change)

**Author's Note: Nothing of note.**

* * *

Present

(Qrow's POV)

"If you keep staring, you'll burn holes…" Jaune taunted me quietly, referencing the silent stare I had been observing him with for a few minutes now.

I wasn't trying to make him sweat it out—he had already proven that wouldn't work—but instead I was truly lost in my thoughts.

 _Parts of this can make sense, given that there is one crucial piece of info that we're missing._ What would make sense is that Jaune had been offered something by Cinder, or possibly even Salem herself. Was the kid foolish enough to believe anyone who offered to give him back the Nikos girl in exchange for his loyalty? _I doubt that. He figured out that I had been following Ruby as bait for Salem's minions._ He clearly has a good head on his shoulders, or at least good instincts, so he wouldn't fall for something so easy.

Which is a shame, because that would have made sense. A reward big enough to buy his loyalty could explain away everything. _Well, not everything._

It was Ruby's sudden insistence to lie to me on Jaune's behalf that really muddied the waters. Whatever Jaune had said to her, had it changed her mind? Given her something to consider? What sort of motivation would turn Jaune against us that would also give _Ruby_ pause? The only motivation for Jaune I can think of would have been Pyrrha, but aside from him not being likely to fall for false promises, there isn't any way that Ruby would also fall for it.

"What did she offer you?" I asked in a hushed tone, almost hoping that he wouldn't hear it. I was really musing more out loud than I was asking him a question.

"Isn't it obvious?" He answered after a long sigh.

 _The only answers that make sense aren't true._

"What am I, Qrow?" Jaune asked quietly. He seemed…reserved. And tired.

 _If he's going out of his way to talk, then something must have changed. And the only thing that's been different for him was Ruby's visit._

"An asshole…" I responded flatly. "And an idiot."

"Okay…what else?" He responded with an irritated frown.

 _A traitor, a scoundrel, a fiend, an enemy._

With a sigh, Jaune changed his question.

"Do you believe that our weapons reflect who we are?"

"No, I don't." I answered after only a moment of consideration. "Be Ruby has absolutely nothing in common with a heavy scythe or a sniper rifle. Our weapons are the best compliments to ourselves."

Jaune appeared to mull over my answer for a few moments. _He's trying to tell me something, without actually telling it to me. It could be that he's playing me, or…_

"Okay, so the metaphor doesn't work for everyone. It does for me, though."

… _or he could be trying to tell me something that he's supposed to keep from me._

"What, plain? Ineffective? Antiquated?" I answered back sarcastically, trying to goad him into correcting me and therefore get him to keep talking.

"Other than antiquated, sure. After some time to think, I've decided that I am my shield."

"Do tell…"

"My only purpose is to make sure my sword has the best chances to be effective. My first function is as a sheath, where my only benefit is protecting my sword with myself."

"And weighing more than is necessary for a sheath…"

"And being a burden, yes. But when a fight comes, I become a shield. My entire purpose is to soak up blows so that my sword doesn't have to. This is my job until I break."

An analogy could be made, but not a pretty one.

"Sure, I can be used as a weapon, but I'm more of a last resort. Something you only use if your attackers aren't expecting it. Otherwise I'm very ineffective."

 _That part makes sense._

"So I take blows and take blows and take blows, until finally the sword finds an opening and strikes them down. And then?"

"And then you go back to being a sheath…" I answered.

"And then I go back to being a sheath. It's a thankless job, but a necessary one. I make the sword better."

The question that he was begging started to become obvious. If he is the shield, who is the sword that he sacrifices himself for?

 _His friends_.

"The thing about a shield is that you never get any credit. No one really notices the shield until it breaks and things go… _wrong_. Qrow, I am a broken shield."

His meaning was obvious, if a little heavy handed. It wasn't something that was unexpected: he still blames himself for Pyrrha's death.

"A broken shield protects nothing. It's just a burden that needs to be tossed aside. It means that it wasn't strong enough."

He set his jaw, and I narrow my eyes at him.

"I am not going to be broken any longer."

* * *

Past

(Salem's POV)

"Bring him in and…let him keep his weapons. It's not as if he poses any threat alone." I ordered. Mercury nodded—more so to break off eye-contact as quickly as possible than anything else—and walked out of the room to fetch our guest.

It surely was an interesting development, if nothing else. This boy—a failure with a low ceiling and bland future, as Cinder's intelligence had read—had confirmed Ozpin was alive. And that wasn't even his bargaining chip; he used that just to get a meeting. He had something else on his mind, something else he thought he could offer _me_ , and he was coming to see what he could get to trade for it.

The doors opened again as Mercury lead in a tall blond boy. To my left, Cinder watched him suspiciously, while to my right Tyrian cut his eyes and made no attempt to hide his anger. _He must remind him of the fight that lost his tail. How petty._

"Jaune Arc. I'm told you had news for me…"

The boy took his time, his eyes nervously eyeing the figures around the room as Mercury made his was to stand behind Cinder. His fingers flexed nervously, as if he was itching place them on the hilt of his sword. _He's nervous, but he is doing a marvelous job at managing it. That either speaks to confidence, or he is simply too foolish to know just how afraid he_ should _be._ And keeping in mind what Cinder did to his partner and what Tyrian did to his whole group, he has reason to fear those two for certain. And all he knows about me is that they answer to me.

 _He should be shaking in his boots._

"Uh…yes. The thing about Ozpin?" His words stumbled out.

"Yes." I answered, leaning forward slightly while maintaining a stare into his eyes that normally makes even my most loyal supporters squirm.

He tried to subtly take a breath to steady himself.

"He didn't die, but he didn't…completely survive, either."

Cinder frowned and cut her eyes at the boy, feigning that she didn't believe his story. Because if she did, then she would have to admit that she failed.

"Go on." I answered, maintaining my stare.

The boy shifted his eyes away from mine and towards Cinder. Coming from any of my servants, breaking away from my stare would be an insult that I would not have taken kindly to. Coming from the boy, it was not something I was yet prepared to punish. _Besides, his reaction to Cinder was far too interesting._

When he saw the look Cinder had shot at him, he didn't cower away like he should have. After all, an angry Fall Maiden is not something to be taken lightly, especially to someone of this boy's combat skill. But her glare did nothing but inspire confidence in the boy, as once he realized he had gained her ire he set his jaw and stood up a little straighter.

He was taunting her. This boy, who knew firsthand the power and severity of Cinder's wrath, was inspired to see that she was angry with him. He was proud that he had earned her ire. It inspired him and gave him more confidence.

 _Isn't that interesting?_

"Ozpin has... Well, his soul has found a…a new host, I guess."

When he received no answer, he continued.

"He no longer has a body, but his…ghost can speak to a young boy. Qrow has hidden the boy somewhere."

"And how do _you_ know this?" Tyrian spat out, still pouting over the reminder of his lost tail.

Although the boy missed it, the glare that I shot Tyrian for speaking out of turn nearly melted the faunus. His stupid pout morphed into fear and shame. _As it should_.

"I…uh…I might have been spying on Qrow at the time. I was kinda angry."

"And why, my dear child, had Branwen earned your distrust?" I asked.

"Well. You see… It was how he used Ru—his niece—as bait." The boy answered nervously.

"Ruby Rose. I know the girl. How did he use her as bait, and why did this upset you?" I asked probingly.

"He…uh, he followed Ruby and us. He was using my friends and I as bait for…" The boy trailed off as his eyes nervously shifted to Tyrian.

 _Ah._ I had already suspected that Tyrian had fallen into Qrow's trap, but as I looked towards the man he slunk away from my gaze out of shame.

"And you didn't appreciate him putting you in danger?" I asked, not revealing my actual suspicions but instead baiting him to correct me and confirm them.

"I was angry that he would risk his own niece and didn't trust him. That's why I was eavesdropping on him when he found Ozpin."

 _As I suspected. His priorities begin with those closest to him_.

"But that is not why you are here. What is it that has driven you to me?"

He paused again, though this time to collect his words.

"There are a lot of strange things I've been hearing about recently. Maidens, Silver Eyes, Robot Girls…so you would understand that when I, uh…found access to some very old books, I started to read through them.

"One of those books had some…interesting accounts of the Maidens and their accomplishments."

He paused to take a breath and think through what he would say next. I am intrigued to say the least.

"There were eye witness accounts of harvests that replenished several times over, and stories of soldiers on boats that were suddenly frozen in the water. The most interesting one was one hidden between the other feats. There was a story of a man that was dying a painful death who was put out of his misery by a Maiden. While dark, it was a nice heartwarming piece about the mercy of a Maiden. She…incinerated the man. There were multiple accounts of that. Of how he turned to ash. Of how he glowed as she killed him."

He stopped speaking and intentionally stared at Cinder now. His gaze was much more intense than I had expected him capable of.

"Much later, there was another account by one of the same people. It told of how, years later, they ran into that man again. The one who had died at the Maiden's hands."

From the context of his story, I knew what he wanted. But what was interesting to me was that he seemed to believe that Cinder had done this same thing to his partner. He was so confident, in fact, that I began to consider whether Cinder had failed to tell me of this.

And the look on her face—her tare between glaring at the boy and cowering from me—told me that the boy was not wrong.

"State what it is you want from me." I commanded.

"I want Pyrrha Nikos resurrected by Cinder and returned to me."

 _The boy is bold, I'll give him that much_.

"And in return for such a gift?"

"I'm negotiable." He answered simply.

A small laughed found its way out of my lips. The boy fights his way through some of my more talented pawns and gives up information that is detrimental to Ozpin—literally betraying the man—to stand before me and ask for me to return the dead to him, and he came without anything left to offer. It was a laughable, and I likely would have ended _negotiations_ then and there if it wasn't for one thing: he was an Arc.

Sure, he was an offshoot of an offshoot of the Arc line, but his very existence was an insult to me. I had gone to great lengths to cull that blood line. The Arc line paid dearly for the heroics of its past, and though it wasn't necessary I had spent a lot of resources to ensure that it was gone. Any chance that his name was a coincidence was quelled by Tyrian, who had seen the boy's shield and the crest it held.

So some small faucet of the Arc line had survived, then, despite my efforts. This child's very existence was an insult to me. I have no doubt that was the sole reason Ozpin let him into Beacon. He may not have been ready, but Ozpin would be damned before he missed a chance to through a failure of mine in my face. He's smug like that.

And now he stands before me, offering to betray Ozpin and assist me. A delicious irony and an opportunity that I do not intend to let escape me.

"Ozpin."

"Qrow has him hidden away. There's nothing I could do to help."

"Qrow then."

"What do you think _I_ can do to the guy? I don't even have a tail to get chopped off. Only way to Qrow is through Ruby."

Over to the side, Tyrian stirred with anger again. Cinder's glare lightened slightly as she flashed Tyrian a small smirk.

"Ruby."

"All I could do to Ruby is lure her into a trap for you. And really, you don't need my help to do that. That's not worth the trade for you."

 _He turned down that offer for_ my _benefit? Sure,_ that's _the reason._ Most likely, he wasn't willing to harm his friend, but in the end, it didn't matter. He did bring up a valid point.

During the silence, I watched the boy stare absently into the table, the gears in his head turning at a furious pace. I decided to wait and see what he came up with, largely because anything I said looked as if it would not make it to him.

"What if I could get rid of General Ironwood?" The boy asked

"And what good would it do me to change the leadership of Atlas's forces?"

"Well, Atlas and Mistral have a shaky alliance as it is. A power vacuum at the top of the largest fleet in Remnant has got to make a bad situation worse, right? Not to mention the potential infighting that would weaken Atlas."

A blow to Atlas like this could make our next moves against Mistral easier to perform and potentially cause greater damage, not that this boy needs to know when our next strike is. On its own, a deal such as this might be acceptable—favorable, even. But for all of the trouble this boy has caused and the blatant disrespect that he has unwittingly shown me? He will have to pay extra.

"Jaune Arc. I hope you realize the gravity of the situation you are in. You are here as _my_ guest and stand before _my_ table. I have afforded you much more leniency than I have to anyone in a very long time. You will have to do better than just one offering."

The boy shrunk back—as he should—but didn't dare to break away from my gaze.

"I could…sneak someone onto an Atlas ship. From there you can get whatever you need. Hack into their files or sabotage the engines… We might even bring the whole thing down."

I set silence fill the air again. If it could be pulled off, then this would be an unexpected boon that would bolster our already thorough plans for Mistral. It would also feel very, very nice to use an Arc against Ozpin for a change. In a battle as old as ours, irony is a very precious commodity.

"Can you deliver your end?" I asked sternly, not allowing the boy to break from my gaze.

"I thi—Yes. I can sneak Mercury in as my "prisoner" and in the confusion of the sabotage I can take out Ironwood."

"Then you have a deal."

I turned my head to my side towards Mercury and nodded slightly. Without a word, he stepped forward to show the boy the way out the door, where he would again be knocked unconscious and smuggled back to Mistral.

"My Queen, may I ask a needless question?"

With a huff on annoyance, I turned to the faunus who address me.

"I'll permit it."

"We _are_ going to go back on this deal, aren't we?"

* * *

Past

(Jaune's POV)

As the doors shut behind me, I finally released the tension in my shoulders that had almost caused me to cramp up. _I did it._ I had a goal now. A final objective to complete. A clear end in sight.

And of all the prices she could have asked, I can't complain on what we settled on. I was really scared that she was going to make me go after Ruby. Since that Tyrian guy had been trying to capture Ruby, that means that I would have had to do the same. In all honesty, it would probably be easier to kill Ruby than capture her. Capturing her involves both beating her and being able to hold back. All that is needed to kill her is to hold nothing back and fight unfairly. I can always bring a bomb that can kill; it's a lot harder to get a bomb that knocks you out.

I hadn't taken two steps since the door closed before I realized something was wrong with my legs. Mainly, they stopped working, and I realized my head was getting fuzzy.

"He fainted…?" Mercury asked himself bemused as I crumpled to the floor. "Well shit, I guess I don't have to knock him out now."

.

..

.

When I finally woke up, I was in a somewhat dark room that was shaking and rattling.

"Where am I?" I grumbled to no one in particular.

"A train headed back to Mistral." Came a voice from somewhere to the side that promptly made my heart skip a beat. "And if you try to look out the window to see how you got here, then I'll knock you out again."

It was Mercury's voice.

"A train?"

"Yup. Last time you were unconscious. Also, this is the last train. We've switched a few times, so don't think this gives you any info on where we just were."

Mercury walked over and handed me a bottle of something. As my eyes finished adjusting to the lighting, I read the label.

"Vodka? I'm flattered, but I don't think getting me drunk is the best way to get into my pants…"

" _Fuck you_. That's your alibi. Now drink up." Mercury walked back to his own seat on a cargo crate and reached into the box that I presume the vodka came from. His hand reemerged with another bottle of alcohol and he poured himself a shot.

"Whiskey? Why do I get stuck with the vodka?" I whined, mostly for the sake of whining. Mercury promptly flipped me off.

"So why are we getting drunk?"

" _You_ are getting drunk. _I_ am drinking."

"Okay, fine. Why am _I_ getting drunk?" I clarified.

"What are you, retarded? That's your alibi for being gone for two days. We'll give you back your phone and turn it on at a bar way out of the way in Mistral, and we'll pay off the bartender to say that you were there the whole time getting smashed alone like some loser. The bit will work better if you wake up from a hangover when they find you. So _start drinking._ "

I looked down at the shot I poured myself. _I_ really _don't want to go back through that, and I_ really really _don't want to have to explain to my team that I went on a two-day bender._

 _But it beats the hell out of telling them I was making a deal with the devil_.

I downed the shot.


	11. A Fake Drinking Binge and a Real Fight

**Author's Note: Excerpts from the original AN:**

 _(PSA: go read "Not this time, Fate")._

 _I've gotten some feedback concerning Jaune's motives and whether or not they are strong enough, so I have taken that into consideration. That being said, the premise of this story has been_ what would Jaune do if he couldn't get over it?

* * *

Past

(Jaune's POV)

I slowly cracked my eyes open, only to give up as soon as I started. My head is pounding and I don't fully remember how I got here. Or where I am for that matter.

I slowly forced my eyes open, bracing myself for the worst. But instead of painful light, my eyes were greeted by a dark room. There was only a hint of light that was being smothered by heavy curtains over a window nearby.

I took stock of my surroundings: I am laying on a couch. I have a blanket. This couch is _very_ comfortable. This room looks familiar, but it's too dark to see anything.

From just beyond the room, I can hear hushed voices having an argument.

"I don't care if he's hungover. I'm still gonna kick the sh—"

"Yang, SHHH! You'll wake him up." _That_ voice I recognized as Ruby.

"Confronting him now would be pointless. He'll just tell us whatever we want to hear so that we let him go back to sleeping it off." Ren's voice cut in quickly, likely to keep Yang from getting angry at Ruby.

"So we wait till he comes out on his own, and _then_ we break his legs?"

"I'm not _completely_ certain breaking his legs is going to solve anything, Nora." Weiss responded softly. I could only hear it because of the silence that followed after Nora's question. _I don't like how long they thought about that._

"Hey now, let's not rule anything out…" Yang responded.

"Uncle Qrow, where did you say you found him?" Ruby asked softly. Even from a different room, I could hear how concerned Ruby was. In fact, I could picture the look on her face, and it makes me feel bad. I've got to put thoughts like that away. _I can't afford to think like that, not with…_

 _Oh, yeah._ That's _why I'm hungover_. Memories of my…er, _meeting_ …the other night came back to me, as well as the reason for my current hungover state. That was my cover for being gone…wait, did Mercury say days? That's one hell of a bender that I'm going to have to sell. _That explains why they are so concerned—well, Ruby sounds concerned—and angry._

"Some bar on the far side of town. Bartender said he had been trying to drown himself for a couple of days. Clearly there's something wrong with the kid." Qrow answered in a calm, matter-of-fact voice.

"Yeah, he hasn't had any sense knocked into him yet." Yang answered. I still can't tell if she's being funny or not. _I don't think she is_.

" _Yang_ , what Qrow is saying is that there's something eating away at Jaune that he's trying to forget. I don't think attacking him is going to get him to trust us enough to explain what's wrong." Weiss answered very calmly, but with a hint of the same concern Ruby had shown earlier. "But once he _does_ explain what's wrong, I won't rule out kicking his ass."

 _Oh jeez, thanks Weiss._

So how am I going to handle this situation? I mean, to them the answer should be somewhat obvious. They already know that I made the ill-advised choice to get drunk over Pyrrha once—it won't be hard for them to imagine me doing it again. The only problem being that that _issue_ doesn't have any actual reason to bother me anymore. Pyrrha being gone is the least of my worries now, but they cannot find out about that.

 _Think, Jauney-boy, come up with a decent excuse. What's happened recently?_ Well, there was the blind date Yang set me up on with Wiess, which still sounds weird when I think about it. _Could that be made into an excuse?_ _Yeah, so the date with my first crush as Beacon stirred up too many memories._ That doesn't sound half bad, plus it might make Yang back off since it would make her partially responsible. Then I would only have to worry about Nora hurting me.

The bigger issue at hand is what I'm going to do. With the angry glares and knowing smirks shared by both Cinder and that scorpion dude—Tyrone? Tyler? Something like that—it doesn't take a genius to know what they were thinking.

 _They're planning on betraying me_. Shocker, I know, because who expects your enemies to betray you? It's more than that, though; they're gonna use me. They'll continue to get whatever they can out of me as long as I have something to offer, and once I'm useless they'll either abandon me or take me out. It's not exactly surprising to know, but it means that they don't have any intention of actually making good on their end of the bargain. They have no reason to even bring Pyrrha back— _if they even can_ —and if they do they have no reason to actually return her to me.

If they wrap me around their finger, then why would they? After all, they would literally be resurrecting a powerful enemy with the potential to hamper their efforts and then setting that enemy free. That's a pretty poor plan in anyone's book.

 _So how do I get murderers, thieves, and terrorists to keep their word?_

"No one is kicking anyone's ass, got it? That's not going to help him." Qrow announced forcefully, although still quiet enough that he didn't think it would wake me up.

"How would _you_ know?" Yang snarked back.

"Because, _my dear second favorite niece_ …" Qrow started, earning an undignified squawk from Yang, "…in this group, I am uniquely qualified to tell you how to prevent your friend from becoming an alcoholic."

The room was quiet for a few moments, save for a sheepish "Oh. Yeah…" from Yang.

 _Heh. Practice what you preach, Bad Luck Charm._

"Here's what we're going to do. You all are going to go get some rest. You're not going to help Jaune running on days with no sleep. When he wakes up, I'll deal with him."

 _Oh fun, a heart-to-heart bro-session with Drunkle Qrow._

There were grumblings from the room, but no one said anything, and I began to hear footsteps fading away as everyone filed out. I waited for a few moments to see if Qrow was going to come in, but when I heard the sound of a chair being moved around, I assumed that he took a seat outside.

I felt around my pockets looking for my scroll, before glancing around to see it charging on the armrest above my head. I grabbed it and pulled it off the charger, instantly regretting my actions as the screen lit up on full brightness and burned into my eyes. _That HAD to be intentional; someone must have turned the brightness to max manually._ After a few moments, the screen adjusted itself to the darkness of the room and dimmed itself, and after a good long wait I finally reopened my eyes.

The front of my scroll was _covered_ in text messages. I flicked my finger on the screen and watched countless lines of messages received fly by. I scrolled to the very bottom to see what they held.

 _Ice-Queen: If you ever want to get Yang back for setting us up on a date, I've got some good ideas for revenge_

 _Ice-Queen: Would you want to talk about them over lunch again?_

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I made a mental note to remember that line. It was sent a few hours after the blind date—actually, right around when I was being 'kidnapped'—and was actually really clever. I thought that that lunch had gone really well, actually, but not enough for Weiss to pretty much ask me out again. I wonder how long Weiss spent crafting those messages and then debating on whether it was worth sending. _I wonder how I tell her that I enjoyed it, but I'm kinda busy trying to resurrect my girlfriend at the moment._

I began scrolling further down the messages.

 _Look, Ma, One Hand: So that place didn't burn to the ground. I take it things didn't go horribly?_

Okay, to be honest, that's probably a mean a nickname. But she did earn it by setting me up on a blind date (and kicking the crap out of me to convince me to do it), so…

As I began to scroll further, I could watch the progression as my friends started to get worried about where I was.

 _Pink Hair Streak: Where are you? You missed dinner. We all ordered pizza._

 _Don't Give Her Sugar: JAUNE what the heck WE EVEN GOT YOU A PINEAPPLE PIZZA_

 _Don't' Give Her Sugar: do you know how HARD it was for me to look that pizza guy in the eye KNOWING that I was PAYING for such a terrible pizza_

 _Don't Give Her Sugar: i feel like i need a shower_

 _*Missed Call – Pink Hair Streak*_

 _*Missed Call – Don't Give Her Sugar*_

 _Smol Child: Hey Jaune, your team is worried about you. Where'd you go?_

That was just the first night that I was gone. Over the next few days, I missed a total of 73 phone calls and 183 messages.

I briefly scrolled through all of them, and went to put my scroll away before the most recent one caught my eye.

 _Ice-Cream: Can you slip away from your team? We need to talk._

What would Weiss need to talk about that was be this important? Surely if the others found out I left them—when Yang still wants to strangle me—to meet with her then they'd be pissed at Weiss too.

I clicked on the message and unlocked my scroll to respond, but as I was typing something caught my attention. The contact photo in the top corner looked different. There were colors there that were not white, which is mostly what you see when you have a picture of Weiss bunched up into a contact photo. I clicked on it out of curiosity, for it to enlarge into a picture of a bowl of ice cream.

 _Neapolitan ice cream._

I backed out and verified that this was not, in fact, Weiss, who is still saved as _Ice-Queen_. No, there was only one person this could be.

 _Me: You want to "talk"? That may be difficult…_

 _Ice-Cream: Very funny._

 _Me: You know, last time I clicked on a link like that, I ended up being kidnapped._

 _Ice-Cream: That was Salem. I'm not one of them. I work differently._

 _Me: Well you have a funny way of showing it._

In reply, she sent me an image of a cane leaning against a wall. The picture looked as if she had simply turned and snapped a quick picture from wherever she was. At first I didn't get it, but after remembering everything Ruby had said about Neo, I remembered something: she worked for Torchwick. _That must be Torchwick's cane._

 _Ice-Cream: We're in the same boat. Our allegiances lie elsewhere and she knows it. They'll just keep us around until we aren't useful anymore._

 _Me: What are you saying?_

 _Ice-Cream: I need a way out, and I think you can help me get it. Or more accurately, I'm getting out, and I'm going to help you do the same._

 _Me: Why would I need you for that?_

 _Ice-Cream: Because I can help you make sure that Salem keeps her end of the bargain_

 _Me: And how would you do that?_

 _Ice-Cream: You have to be more useful than they expect. You have to claw for every inch they give you until you finally get what you want._

 _Ice-Cream: And when you do, you need to already have your plan for escaping_ her _ready._

 _Me: And you want to help me?_

 _Ice-Cream: I think our only chance is if we betray her together._

 _Me: And how do I know you aren't setting me up?_

 _Ice-Cream: You don't. But you know that you don't stand a chance alone._

 _Ice-Cream: So follow that link and find out for yourself._

I looked over to the window. I could slip out easily. They wouldn't think to check my phone's location since they know that I'm sleeping in here, and when I get there I could turn it off.

Do I dare trust this? When something seems too good to be true, it usually is. One of Cinder's minions who just happens to want to help me get Pyrrha back and escape from Salem's wrath? That would take some astronomical luck. A true byproduct of chance.

However, she wasn't wrong. By myself, there isn't much I can do. I'll play Salem's game, and when she's done with me I'll be powerless to stop her. But with help from the inside, I just might be able to pull something off. It's a huge a risk, but if I don't take it I'm doomed anyways.

Besides, I'm not a big believer in chance anyways. Luck is just another term for fate, and I'm really not a fan of Fate at all. I make my own fate, which means I make my own luck. If I want this to happen, I have to make it happen.

If that means making a deal with the enemy, then so be it. If that means making another deal with another, lesser enemy to betray that first enemy, then so be it.

Not long ago, I would have said I would be lucky to be able to save Pyrrha. _But I make my own luck._

* * *

Present

(Jaune's POV)

This was…this was new. To be honest, I had expected to be turned over to Winter and have the screws put to me. Literally, if those stories that Mercury tried to scare me with had any accuracy.

If I weren't handcuffed to a table with likely all of my friends watching from behind the glass with disappointed stares, then I might have even found it fun so far. Qrow Branwen has been pacing around and asking questions all over the place, like I'm some sort of master criminal whose very silence answers his questions. With every question I didn't answer, Qrow recoiled like I had just told him that there were bombs planted across the city. I felt like a supervillain who had everything planned out and was cryptically monologuing.

In the end, silence just meant silence. It was quiet funny to me, and honestly the hardest part was not cracking a smile.

And then he brought Ruby back in here for a second time, but this time didn't reserve his glares for me. It almost felt like he wanted to interrogate both of us.

"I don't like it when people lie to me…" Qrow started slowly, walking in a slow circle around the table so he could eye both of us. "I've had to put up with Jaune all day, and he's really worn down my patience."

Ruby, sitting across from me, followed Qrow curiously with her eyes.

"So imagine my surprise when my own _second-favorite niece_ lied to me, too."

" _Yang?_ " Ruby asked surprised.

Qrow, who at this point was standing behind me, never answered. Ruby continued to stare above me, leaving me to watch her eyes curiously. As Ruby began to realize Qrow's meaning, her eyes went wide with shock and horror.

The last time I saw her eyes like that, I had just shot her.

* * *

 _Alright Jaune, you can do this. It's just an Atlesian Airship. How hard could it be to pilot? It probably has an automatic landing AI and maybe even full auto-pilot. All I have to do is land it somewhere in the city and then slip into the crowds. I'm in the home stretch._

" _Oh Jaune, thank goodness your safe. Do you know what's going on?" A voice called out from behind me. Ruby's voice. This was supposed to be an empty hangar. This was_ supposed _to be my escape._

 _Perhaps…perhaps this could work even better. After all, I still have one final offering to make to gain_ her _favor. I already have the offering Neo and I planned out, but if I have Ruby as a hostage, that might distract her enough for our plan to actually work._

" _I'm trying to get out of here, Ruby. Didn't you hear? We're abandoning ship!" I answered without turning around to face her. I could hear her footsteps approaching._

 _The problem with my new plan is that it requires me to take Ruby captive. If that's what it takes, then I would be willing to try. But my willingness is not the limiting factor here; it's how much better Ruby is._

 _Just means I have to fight really, really dirty._

" _What? When did they announce tha—"_

 _I cut Ruby off part-way as I drew my sword and spun with it, landing a large diagonal swipe across her chest that threw her onto her back._

* * *

"U-uncle Qrow? What a-are you talking about?" Ruby asked nervously. I had to fight an urge to roll my eyes. _Qrow would destroy this whole airship to protect Ruby if she was in any real trouble._

"I'm not certain yet, which is why you're not wearing handcuffs too…" I _really_ had to fight the urge to roll my eyes this time. Ruby's face went even paler than usual. Not long ago, I would have imagined I would have been just as easy to interrogate. "All I know is that I let you have your two minutes with Jaune, and now suddenly you're lying about whatever it is happened in there."

"I think I know where this is going. It's a little embarrassing for me, seeing as it lasted all of just two minutes, but you should know that—" Qrow smacked me on the back of the head before I could even finish the joke.

"I'm tired of you. It would be wise to shut up now."

"And here I thought the issue was me NOT talking…" I quipped back.

* * *

" _GAAH! Jaune, it's me!" Ruby called out surprised as she hit the floor._

 _Her aura didn't crack, but that was a large blow and Ruby is not exactly built to take hits. I stepped forward to slam my sword on the ground where Ruby lay, but she rolled sideways and scrambled to her feet before it connected._

" _JAUNE, SNAP OUT OF IT. IT'S ME, RUBY!"_

 _I thought about answering, about making a cryptic threat or just some statement to unsettle her. In the end, I decided to meet her eyes and let my stare do the talking. Whatever story she could imagine was far more terrifying that what I could tell her._

 _I stepped forward and swung at Ruby again, forcing her to dodge and draw her weapon. I had basically just challenged her to a duel and given myself a large handicap. Maybe not large enough._

" _J-Jaune, what's going on?! I-I don't want to hurt you!" Ruby stammered._

" _Then don't."_

* * *

Ruby's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she timidly followed Qrow, up until the point where he walked behind her. It was a really simple and honestly ineffective intimidation technique, but you didn't exactly need to be all that scary to get to Ruby right now.

"What happened between the two of you, Ruby?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" She asked back, very obviously feigning ignorance.

Qrow sighed and walked over to the side of the table so he could see both our faces.

"You're a terrible liar, kid. First, he shot you, then he abducts you. Next thing we know, you're in a random hospital room under some random name dropped off by an anonymous man _not_ fitting Jaune's description. And after two minutes talking to Jaune, you now suddenly are hiding information on his behalf. _I'm not stupid, kiddo. What happened?_ "

* * *

" _GAH!" I let out a muffled cry as Ruby dodged under my below and used her Semblance to shoot behind me, then used that position to take a large swipe across my back with her Scythe._

 _I kicked back with my right leg and caught Ruby off-guard as my foot slammed onto her knee. She wobbled off balance and gave me enough time to spin around and slam my elbow into the side of her face, knocking her backwards._

 _Her aura cracked and fizzled._

 _Not losing any time, I jumped at her and attempted to bring my sword down on her, but I executed it sloppily as I realized it would be a killing blow and she rolled to the side of the it. She found her footing and lunged back at me, kicking off of my arm and forcing me to drop my sword. She then used that kick-off to put her feet into my chest and run up me like a wall, kicking off of my face this time._

 _As soon as she landed, she used her Scythe to hook my shield and yank it from me before I had regained my balance. I finally did plant my feet, but by then I looked up to see a trail of rose petals leading between my legs, and the next thing I knew is Ruby had jumped on my back and wrapped her legs tightly around my neck. I closed my eyes and began struggling to throw her off of me, but I staggered as I felt a sniper round being fired into my stomach point blank, straining my aura._

 _When that didn't do the trick, I felt several more rounds fire into my stomach until my aura was also gone. Ruby released her grip and I threw her in front of me, but she landed and immediately pointed her still-loaded Scythe at my now defenseless body._

* * *

To her credit, Ruby still didn't answer. Not to her credit, however, you could tell she was about to crack. She looked to me as if waiting for me to bail her out or throw her a bone, but doing so would have tipped something to Qrow. Besides, it was more fun to watch her squirm; it meant that I wasn't being interrogated at the moment. I gave her a nonchalant shrug.

"I'm…not doing it for Jaune. I still don't know what to think about him." Ruby answered truthfully, if in a very scared manner.

"Then who, Ruby?" Qrow asked with loads more care and sympathy in his voice now that he had his niece back.

"I…uh, I had a visitor." Ruby trailed off. When Qrow made no attempt to say anything, she felt the need to explain. "In the infirmary. I had someone I didn't expect come talk to me."

"What did they say?" Qrow asked after a few moments to choose his words carefully.

"She said that…well, she started off by telling me that at the end of our talk, she would decide if she was still going to kill me. It's pretty safe to say we both felt differently at the end of our talk."

 _Ruby is clearly new to this. She just gave away that it was a 'she.'_

"You had someone in the infirmary threaten you?!" Qrow asked quickly, apparently abandoning his slow-to-speak strategy.

"Well, I guess technically it was a threat. But I don't think she would hurt me now, if that helps."

Qrow sighed and rubbed his forehead, trying to put those thoughts out of his head long enough to get whatever information out of Ruby that he could.

"Okay, so this mysterious assassin who came to your room: no chance you're going to tell me who she is?" Ruby very timidly nodded to affirm that notion. "But this assassin who wanted to kill you convinced you to protect Jaune?"

"Nope." Ruby answered almost gleefully as she shot me a quick look that confirmed her statement. "I don't know anything about Jaune that you don't know. I just wanted to give my assassin friend enough time to escape!" Ruby answered in her usual playful glee, as if the whole thing was benign. I mean, it is, but Qrow won't see it that way. _Also, I'm going to have to remind Ruby for helping her escape_. Let's just hope it doesn't come back to bite her.

* * *

" _Don't move, Jaune! I-I don't know why you're doing this—whatever_ this _is—but it's over! I-I'll shoot if I have to!"_

 _I put my hands down to my sides and weighed my options. I'm too far away from Ruby to charge her. I'm too far from either my shield or sword to dive for them. I definitely can't talk my way out of this._

 _I do have one more option, but it's a lot riskier. There are a lot of things that can go wrong. In fact, I would say the odds favor someone dying, which is something I absolutely cannot have for the plan to work. Salem has orders that Ruby is_ not _to be killed and is only to be captured if engaged, so if this move backfires and kills her then my plans are over. And if it fails and I die, well, that's no good too._

 _A quick glance at Ruby revealed that she was shaking now, either from combat or the stress of holding a friend at gunpoint._ Good. _That will make her aim worse._

 _As Ruby took her eye off of me to grab her scroll—presumably to call for back-up—I slipped my right hand back behind my waist and wrapped my hands around the grip of the pistol I used on Ironwood earlier._

 _A massive handcannon designed for executing soft, aura-unlocked targets. There's no telling what kind of damage it could do to such a small person._

 _I began drawing the weapon carefully. I kept my movements slow and subtle, and the moment she looked back up I would hasten everything and fire; it should let me get the first shot or two off._

 _Two shots. That's all I'll get before she returns fire. I've trained with a sword and shield and barely ever held a gun before, much less fired one under such stressful circumstances. I'm just as likely to put a round between Ruby's forehead as I am to accidentally shoot my own foot on the draw. If I miss, I fail. If I hit something vital, I fail. If I don't walk away, I fail._

 _By the time Ruby looked back up, I almost had the barrel pointed at her chest. Adrenaline surged through me as our eyes locked and she realized what I was doing._

 _I pulled the trigger as many times as I could. After all, I make my own luck now._

* * *

Past

(Emerald's POV)

Standing off to the side, I had a good view as Tyrian returned to Salem's table. He walked in and stood at the end of the table, waiting to be addressed.

"Ah, Tyrian. Have you done what I asked?" Salem asked expectantly.

"Yes, my Queen! Taking prisoners is not usually my specialty, but you'll find a good array of people with a _wide_ array of injuries for your tests."

"Good." Salem moved her gaze, which normally would dismiss Tyrian, but he persisted.

"My Queen, may I ask a question?"

"I'll allow it."

" _Why_ are we _not_ betraying that boy? What good does it do us to return an enemy to the battlefield?!"

Salem chuckled and fiercely returned her gaze to Tyrian, who flinched.

"Clearly you do not see my plans. The very fact that someone of the Arc bloodline lives defies me. I went to great lengths to punish that entire lineage for their heroics, and the fact that a boy now carries Crocea Mors is an insult to me. I have no doubts that Ozpin chuckled from behind his coffee mug as he admitted that boy to Beacon. Do you not yet see what I am getting at?"

Tyrian cowered further and failed to answer, which was answer enough.

"If I merely killed him now, then he would still have gotten the last laugh by living this long. If I used him against Ozpin, then my revenge would go even further, as I would have turned the Arc line against its former glory. That alone would make my plans worthwhile."

"AH HA, yes, I-I see it now. Th-thank you." Tyrian sputtered out, clearly regretting questioning Salem's plans.

"But that's not all. If I betrayed him, his old friends and his team would eventually take him back. After all, he would learn his lesson and rededicate him to his original cause. But if he doesn't regret his decisions, even if his friends refuse to forgive him for it? Well, that would tear a rift into them, not to mention the emotional distress it would cause your maimer. Such an opportunity shouldn't be passed up."

"And how do w-we get him to do this?" Tyrian asked.

Salem looked at the other two members of the room, Cinder and myself. "Well, tell the boy how we would do it."

"If we give him what he wants—if he can justify all his actions to himself—then he's never going to admit any of it was wrong. That's how we divide them." I answered after a few moments to ensure that she had actually invited me to speak.

"Ah, this one gets it. It's good to see your time cooped up here hasn't dulled you, Emerald. At the end of the day, we turn an Arc against Ozpin and tear a steak into the heart of Ruby Rose and her supporting cast."

"And all it costs us is one resurrected Maiden candidate?" Tyrian asked, trying to finish her line of thought.

"Yes, though there is the possibility that even that may drive more confusion and hurt into their teams. But we will have to wait and see on that matter. Tyrian, you are dismissed."

Once Tyrian had bowed, thanked Salem for her graciousness, and left, she turned to Cinder and, by extension, me.

"Now Cinder, it's your turn. Do you know why I sent Tyrian out to capture (and maim) anyone he could find?"

I began to step forward for Cinder to whisper her answer to me, but Cinder shook her head to indicate no, though very timidly.

"You came to me as a girl looking for power, and now that you have it you can't ever seem to use it properly. You've failed to kill Ozpin and you captured someone's soul without even knowing it. It seems that if you're to avoid becoming a _failure_ , then you need some hands-on instruction.

"The capture men are for practice. You will capture the souls of men with various wounds and practice resurrecting them until I'm confident that you can bring back the Nikos girl. Bear in mind that you need this to be successful, because so far it would be your only success. _Do I make myself clear_?"


	12. (Everyone has) Important Conversations

**Author's Note: This chapter has one of my favorite scenes. No spoilers...**

 **Excerpt from OG AN:**

 _There are a lot of things that need to happen in the past before the present progresses much further, so for the time being there won't be as much happening live. Despite that, let's kick this chapter off with…_

* * *

Present

(Qrow's POV)

"Haven't you been paying attention at all? I've made much more progress than you could have!" I protested loudly.

"And yet, still no actionable intel out of him. Qrow, we have to ramp things up. _Let my specialists handle this now_." Winter answered in as calm of a manner as she could, trying to seem reasonable to persuade me out of my position. It was a classic move Jimmy would try to pull on Oz; it never worked then, and it won't now.

"Oh, your _specialists_ , huh? I'll bet they'll do a real good job, just like the one stationed at Ruby's room did earlier. Nice job on that, by the way! Practically invited an assassin right in the door."

Winter went silent for a moment, giving me a puzzled look.

"What specialist guarding Miss Rose? I never authorized such a thing." Winter answered quietly.

"Nice try, Ice Queen, but you can't fool me. I checked the girl's credentials myself."

"Qrow, _I never authorized such a thing_."

Those words hung in the air for a few moments.

"Then who th _e hell…?_ " I trailed off as Winter walked over to a monitor and entered her security clearance. After half a minute, Winter had found footage of Atlas soldiers clearing Ruby's room, and from there scanned the faces of them all.

"There! That's her." I said as I pointed to her picture.

"Her credentials must be faked, but they appear to be high-quality fakes. At first glance, even I wouldn't have questioned them."

"So what, they uploaded her file during the attack earlier?"

"That's possible, but unlikely. I've had technicians flag any and every change that has happened since 24 hours before the attack. This file appears to have been added… _before_ then." Winter took a few more moments to dig into the history of the file before changing tactics and viewing when the credentials were scanned. "Well, that's not what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"Given the quality of this ID, I would have expected it to be used for the attack, but they've only been scanned or checked one time: when you ran it."

Before Winter had even turned back around, I was already on my way back to the interrogation room.

Jaune had an accomplice who could have gotten anywhere in this ship undetected, and instead of using that during the attack, it was only used to meet Ruby. _Why? Why not use it during the attack?_

I opened the door where Jaune and Ruby were still sitting, Jaune still chained to the table and Ruby still too scared to leave her chair. If I had to bet, Jaune would be the first of them to break of this room in their current state.

"Alright, one of you is going to tell me who the hell visited Ruby and the other one is going to be quiet and beg for mercy." I announced strongly, though it was obvious who I meant to beg for my mercy. To my surprise, it was not who I expected to answer me.

"Oh, you don't know about Neo?" Jaune replied smugly, with a playfulness in his eyes that had until now been absent. _Something's changed_. My stare at Jaune was the only answer he was getting.

"Weeeeeeell, I guess I have stalled pretty long. Do you think I bought enough time for my nefarious schemes?" Jaune mocked, still not getting an answer.

"Sheesh, tough crowd. If it makes you feel better about yourself as an interrogator, I could give you her number…" Jaune picked up a loose scrap of paper from the case file that was still laying on the deck along with the pencil that came with it, and began writing down numbers.

"Here we go, one booty call, coming right up!" Jaune pronounced as he handed me the paper. Ruby tried to hide her chuckle at Jaune's antics. "Thank you, Ruby. I was afraid my jokes had gone bad."

I left the room and Winter was waiting for me in the hallway, and I gave over the number without any fuss. It would be easier for her to trace the call with the Atlas tech on board anyhow. I followed Winter as she very quickly marched through corridors until we arrived at a communications station on the ship, where Winter gave the information to the technicians and a call was made using the large screen in the center of the room.

"So, you think this is going to reveal anything?" I asked as the call began to ring.

"I'm half expecting this to be a prank call to a pizza shop, to be hone—" Winter's words frozen as the call was answered and the screen flickered to life.

"What the _fuck_?"

* * *

Past

(Jaune's POV)

The directions on my scroll ended in front of a large, gated house in a really nice neighborhood. Not the kind of place I expected to be meeting Neo. Seeing as I had arrived, I shut off my scroll and removed the battery so I couldn't be tracked. _Hopefully they hadn't already noticed I was gone._

I walked up to see the gate had a "Call" button, so I pressed it. Within seconds, the speaker crackled and an angry voice answered.

" _Passcode?_ "

"Uh…I don't have a passcode. I was invited here?" I answered, displaying my immeasurable confidence as I squeaked out a reply.

" _We don't take guests. Leave._ "

"You sure? I was invited by the super short ice-cream girl? You know, boots, umbrella, murderous intent? Ring any bells?"

The speaker went dead for half of a minute, when suddenly the gate began to swing open. I walked on in and made my way to the front door where I rang the doorbell. Within a few moments, I was brought inside by two bulky men in cheap suits who looked very obviously like cheap hired muscle. _I could probably even take these guys right now, and I didn't even bring a weapon. Wait a minute, why the hell didn't I bring a weapon to what is probably a trap?!_

The thugs quietly escorted me through the house into a living room of sorts which had papers and maps strewn all about it. In the center of the room stood a large table with several huge maps stacked on top of each other, with the top map being one of the city. Standing over this map was Neo, flanked by a few men who were watching her draw on the map. Every minute or so, Neo would reach down and send something to one of the men on their scroll, and they would walk out without a sound.

"So, what is this place?" I asked once all the men had left.

" _THIS…_ " a firm, female voice from behind me boomed, "…is—or rather, was—Roman Torchwick's main hideout here. If I recall correctly, this is a residence for one of his aliases. No illegal activities happened here; only their planning stages."

Neo nodded to confirm the information, although she did cut her eyes at the mention of the past tense. Once the voice had made its way around me, I got a chance to see who had said it. In front of me was a tall woman who drastically foiled Neo in size and color palette. Where Neo was short with vibrant colors, this woman was taller and wore a very dark red and black color range. Even her jet-black hair and red eyes contrasted Neo's neapolitan hair scheme and mismatched but colorful eyes. Another contrast was the massive sheath on her hip that no doubt carried a much more menacing weapon than an umbrella. _Not to say I want to fight against that umbrella in a fair duel…_ And don't forget her Grimm mask, identifying her as White Fang.

"The better question is why _he_ is here. Care to explain why you've double booked, Neo?" The woman asked angrily. Neo began to type something out and sent it to the woman, but the woman made no move to check what the message was.

"No, I'm not going to play your little game. You'll have to make an exception for me." The woman said while locking eyes with Neo.

"Bitch." Came a small voice from Neo.

"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that. That is, as long as you answer my question. Why have you brought this boy to my meeting?"

"He's our way in." Neo answered curtly, making no effort to hide her displeasure at being required to speak aloud. _I didn't even think she_ could _speak._

"Oh Neo, and when you said you had connections, I assumed you meant that you kept Torchwick's old networks alive. I certainly wouldn't have shown up if you were relying on… _this_."

"Get you in _where_?" I asked, mostly lost on the subject but not lost on the fact that this room was becoming hostile and I was still unarmed.

"Of course she hasn't even told you yet. What did I expect from Roman's lapdog? I need an off-book meeting with General Ironwood, and I can't get that because Atlas has the means to… _block my entry_. Neo here said she could get me that meeting, and instead I get you." The woman punctuated her last sentence by drawing a _really, really_ long katana-like blade and pointing it at my neck.

"He has connections, Raven. Connections like the Schnees and your brother." Neo stated angrily. Raven, as it were, never withdrew her blade, though she did turn her head to look at Neo.

"I'm well aware who he is, and that he's not quite as stupid as my brother thought he was. That doesn't mean he can help me."

"All he needs is a meeting with Ironwood. He can sneak me aboard, and by the time he gets to the General's office, I'll have their shields down."

Raven paused to mull the plan over in her head. It _was_ simple enough to work, if whatever 'shields' Neo needed to take down were within her capabilities. All it sounds like I would need to do is get an appointment with the Head of Atlas's Military. _No biggie, right?_

"Can you get that meeting?" Raven asked, now returning her gaze to me. I nodded, and after a long silence, Raven finally sheathed her sword.

"It looks like we have a deal. Tell me, what's in it for him?"

"It's the same as me. When the time comes, we'll need your help." Neo answered softly, though still not over her previous annoyance.

"What's in it for the White Fang?" I asked, alluding to her mask. Raven laughed in my face and drew her sword again.

" _White Fang_? That's adorable. You are in _so_ far over your head, kid." Raven took her sword and sliced through an empty space in the room, created a giant rift matching the crimson color of her blade. "Tell Qrow he's an ass the next time you see him."

With that, she stepped through the portal, which then closed behind her.

* * *

Past

(Weiss' POV)

"I'm going to tear his head…" Yang bellowed out for what felt like the umpteenth time. At this point, I had just begun to tune it out. It seemed unlikely we would find him anyways.

"…from his body, and…"

It's not like I can blame her for being angry. I _should_ be angry at Jaune right now. A two-day bender without telling anyone, only to run away once we finally did find him? Any other time, I would…

"…shove it right up his own ass!"

" _Yang_ , please, I get your point. You're angry and Jaune is going to find that out. Could you maybe not shout so much? We are _trying_ to track him down, after all."

"Why aren't you angry about this, Weiss?! Normally you'd be ready to skewer Jaune and roast him over a fire." Yang asked exasperated.

"Normally, yes. And I can't guarantee that won't happen at some point. But right now, I can't help but feel…guilty."

"Guilty?"

I sighed and thought of how to explain it to Yang without mentioning the word 'Jaune.' Saying that at this moment might cause Yang to go ballistic once again.

"Do you remember how Ruby said that they met Mr. and Mrs. Nikos?"

Yang paused a moment to think on it, but answered fairly quickly nonetheless.

"Yeah. Something about how Jaune got dru— _oh_." Yang trailed off as the realization hit her. He had gotten drunk over memories of Pyrrha and met her father by chance. "Aw crap. Do you think we might have done this?"

" _We_? I remember you being the one to force him into a blind date." I responded playfully, trying to lighten the mood and avoid a very dark topic whose edges we had approach.

"And I remember you pretty much asking me to. Do you think that had anything to do with what happened?"

"I…I don't know. It certainly would appear so."

The math certainly worked. Jaune had, to our group's knowledge, only ever gotten drunk once, and that was because he was overwhelmed by his memories of Pyrrha. Now, Jaune had gone on a massive two-day drinking binge, the very same night he had gone on a date with me earlier. It would make sense that either he felt guilty about the date or it went too well and it reminded him of good times, and that would send him back on the same track as before. _Which leads to a deeper problem that needs to be addressed._

"Do you think we might have turned him into an alcoholic?" Yang asked quietly, apparently haven followed my same line of thought.

"No, surely not." I answered none too certainly. "We only have two data points. That doesn't make it a trend."

"But… _still_." Yang continued, still very uncertain about the topic. It would make sense that she would be the most nervous about this topic, since she might have been old enough to watch her uncle follow the same path.

"Yeah…" I admitted after a sigh. "It's…not a pleasant thought."

After a few minutes of silence where Yang and I left each other alone with our thoughts—no doubt we were having the same thoughts, but they weren't things that needed or could be said aloud easily—my phone buzzed in my pocket.

 _J. Arc: Is it safe to come back yet, or is Yang still going to hit me with a chair?_

 _Me: How do you know I won't hit you with a chair?_

After a few minutes without a reply, I was too nervous that I had scared off the only lead on Jaune I had.

 _Me: I won't, though. I'll keep Yang off of you, too_

 _Me: Well, as much as is possible._

 _J. Arc: Well I'm glad to see someone isn't gunning for me._

 _J. Arc: Or at least you're sneaky about it. Ruby and Yang wouldn't know sneaky if it bit them on the ass._

 _Me: Should I even ask where you are?_

 _J. Arc: If you ask nicely I'll tell you :P_

I waited a few minutes before responding, half unsure of what I should say and the other half protesting that he thinks he could make me do that.

 _J. Arc: Fine I'll tell you anyways. Sheesh._

 _J. Arc:_

He sent a link that opened my Scroll's map and placed a geo-location pin, right on top of one of the lookout towers on the edge of the city's wall. It took me around twenty minutes to get there, and another ten to climb all of the steps to the top of the stone tower. Once on top, I found Jaune sitting on the edge of the wall, looking out over the forest.

"What exactly are you doing up here?" Jaune flinched at the noise but didn't turn around or otherwise react.

"Well, I woke up with a hangover that could kill a Beowulf, and there are a lot less loud people here who want to hurt me. It felt like the best solution at the time."

I walked over to where he was sitting and hopped up to sit on the edge. I took a seat that was near enough to be felt but with enough distance that it wouldn't feel as if I was trying to smother him.

"And you didn't think that would make those people angrier and louder?" I asked snidely.

"You go drink for 48 hours straight and then tell me how clearly you think." Jaune answered with playful, if dark, humor at his own expense.

" _Ah_. Do you…want to tell me why you did that? I never pegged even _you_ to be that dumb." The moment the words left my mouth, I already regretted them.

Jaune didn't answer, but his eyes did drop down to look at his lap and his mouth contorted into a slight, sad frown.

"You don't need to answer that; I-I think I already know the answer…" I interjected softly into the silence. "A-and I'm sorry for it."

"You don't have to be sorry, Weiss. I can take responsibility for myself; I am a grown man."

I gave Jaune a flat look.

"Okay, mostly grown. Somewhat grown? I'm at least not a toddler. Regardless, what I do doesn't have to reflect on anyone else."

"No, Jaune, I stirred up your feelings for her. Without me, this wouldn't have happened…"

Jaune chuckled to himself a little before rebutting me.

"For what, being dragged into a date with me? Normally _I_ would be the one apologizing for that."

"No, I—it wasn't Yang's idea to set us up." I answered quickly, trying to get the words out before I had the good sense not to say them at all.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked, ever oblivious to the subtleties of human interaction.

"I mean… _I_ asked her to set that up. I thought that…well, something is… _different_ with you now. I thought it was worth seeing for myself. It doesn't matter, though, because it means that _I am_ the one to blame." I turned my head to look away from him, desperately wanted to avoid eye contact at the moment.

" _Huh._ I figured that she forced you into it like she forced me."

"How… _did_ she do that, exactly?" I asked, cursing myself for changing the subject instead of pressing on through this.

"She beat me up. Literally."

"She _what_?!"

"Well, technically it was a spar, but she was _not_ taking any chances on losing it."

Just like that, with a few small chuckles shared between us, the conversation died. For a minute or two, we stared out into the forest in silence. I spent the whole time replaying our conversation in my head and berating myself over how I could have done it better, or at least accomplished _something._

 _I can still accomplish something_.

"Is there…anything I can do to help?" I asked, knowing he wasn't likely to ask for anything but sincerely hoping that he mentioned anything I could do. _It would ease my conscious beyond belief if I could actually be useful._

Jaune took a few moments to think—his brow furrowed and he appeared to be mulling over things in his mind.

"Well, I—" Jaune started, before backing out of it. "No, not really."

My heart sank as he decided not to share it with me, but I felt like I needed to do _something_ for him.

"What were you going to say, then?"

"It was nothing… it—well, I guess I can." Jaune fumbled, trying and failing to tell me no. "Are you, uh, in contact with your sister?"

The question caught me off-guard, largely because I actually am not yet. _I've just been putting that conversation off too._

"Uh…no, not yet. I've been needed to do that, though. Why?"

"Do you think she could get me a meeting with General Ironwood?" He asked quietly, almost more like he was asking a hypothetical question.

"Um, yes, given her rank and her duties she is capable of arranging meetings with him." I answered somewhat robotically before I even analyzed what he was asking. "Whether or not she would is a harder question. Can I ask why?"

"I—after Beacon fell, Atlas combed through Beacon Tower for any clues on Ozpin. I was hoping they might have information on…on his office, or what's left of it." His meaning became clear to me: _where Pyrrha died._

"You could ask Ruby's uncle. He was the first one on the scene there."

"Yeah, but he was just there to rescue Ruby and get out. He didn't comb for clues or anything. Besides, I'm not his biggest fan."

Oh, right. Ren and Nora told Yang and I about that, how Qrow was using them as bait and nearly showed up too late. I'm sure I would have probably attacked him if I had been there.

"And you want to ask the General about it?"

"I just…if anyone can give me access to a file on it, or a report about it, it would be him. Just… _some_ sort of closure would help."

"I'll do it. I promise." I said suddenly, surprising us both. The more I thought about it, the easier the decision should have been. "I'll track down my sister tomorrow and I'll make sure that she does it. I promise you, Jaune."

This was the push I needed. I had been putting off meeting her, and if it took something like this to do it, then I'm okay with that. If I can't do something difficult for the sake of my friends, then what good am I to them? _I'll go to any length for them, from now on. No hesitation._

"Thank you, Weiss. You don't know how much this means to me…"

* * *

Past

(The Champion's POV)

 _Where am I? Who am I? What happened to me?_

I don't know where I am. It's…dark. I can't feel anything. It all feels empty around me, and empty inside me. It feels like I'm floating in a dark lake, but I can't feel any water and I can't see anything. It's not the lack of water I feel. I cannot actually feel any part of me.

Who am I? I feel like I should remember that. When I think back to my earliest memories and my deepest convictions, all I can grasp at is a word: _Fate_. Concentrating on that word—on that concept—starts to bring back memories of who I am. _Or is it who I was?_

It's coming back to me now. I was a champion! I was a fighter! I was invincible! I was _destined_ for great things and I knew it. I knew my future was to defend humanity on behalf of those who couldn't, and I was going to be their champion. But I don't remember or recall getting lazy or sloppy, even though Fate had chosen me. No, where others might have let up since Luck was on their side, I pushed myself harder until I reached perfection. That was what made me special, and why I was _destined_ to do great things: I had more potential than anyone and I never stopped working to maximize it. If you could get around my semblance and find a fault in my technique and worm your way through my defense and counter my agility, then you would have to contend with Fate before you could finish me, and that was a matchup that no one wins.

But that…that didn't make things easier, did it? The closer my memories get to where I believe I am now, the more a doubt begins to creep in. Finally, I remember why; I was given the opportunity to increase my power and achieve my _destiny_ early. Why did that bother me? _Isn't it obvious?_ My strength came from my belief in and my dedication to my Destiny. Surely, I would become as powerful as this someday, but if I accepted this offer then I would have spit in the face of what made me special. _But it wasn't so black and white_. If I didn't accept the offer, then I would be putting lives at risk immediately. Could this be Fate's hand pushing me to new heights? Am I supposed to take this mantle now and protect those around me? After all, that _is_ what I am here for, isn't it? Is _this_ my moment?

I never got the chance to find out. The choice was taken from me by— _ **her**_ —and I was told to flee. For the first time in my life, I was faced with a superior opponent and I tucked my tail between my legs as I ran away to let someone stronger fight _**her**_. _I_ was the weak and innocent who needed protection now. Was Fate punishing me for trying to usurp it and steal the mantle of Maiden? _Turn around! Stand and fight like you were born to! Don't run away!_

But I did. I took the hand of the one I loved and ran away, but it ate away at me. I was literally running from Destiny at that point, and eventually I reached a point where I could not focus any longer. On one hand, there was my first and only love, scared for both of our lives and desperate to find help. I had finally won his attention and few things in the world would have made me happier. _But on the other hand…_ It became clear to me that I was faced with a choice between him or my Destiny. If I chose him now, then everything I have worked to be up until now goes away and I am left with nothing. Suddenly, it all became clear: _he was a distraction._ This wasn't a punishment for running away or for usurping Fate; this was Fate's biggest test for me! This was the fight for which I was created! In the darkest hour, my time had finally come! In the hardest choice of my life, I chose my Destiny. _Surely now, there is nothing in this world that I cannot overcome._

And so I charged into battle with an unprecedented fire! There was no fear in my mind, no intimidation of such a powerful opponent. Sure, I was outmatched, but we were close. If I took every right step, made every right move, and never wavered in my conviction, then _**she**_ would have to do the same to keep up. And if she did, then Fate was on my side. This exact moment was the purpose for my existence. _She would lose no matter what._ I could see the frustration on her face and I held nothing back. All I had to do was give everything I had, and _it would be enough!_

And then…it wasn't. My Luck, my Fate, my Destiny…they all abandoned me. My ankle was pierced by _**her**_ arrow, but I felt no pain. _I felt nothing._ Had Fate abandoned me? Did I do something wrong? Can _**she**_ defy the will of Fate itself? _Is…is there such a thing as Fate?_

As my world crumbled in on itself, I found myself at a loss. I couldn't explain it. I couldn't comprehend it. And suddenly, I realized that _**she**_ was speaking at me. _**She**_ _defeated me and my Fate. I should ask_ _ **her**_. And so I did, in no uncertain terms. At this exact moment, if there was anyone who could make sense of this for me, it could only be the one who was _better_ that _me_.

"Do you believe in Destiny?"

"Yes."

But what did that mean then? If there is such thing as Destiny—if Fate really was there—then how did I lose? It should have been impossible. We were perfectly matched. Surely Fate would have tipped the scales.

And then it hit me.

… _It did…_

I don't know how long I stayed like that afterwards, a consciousness lost in a dark void. I made no effort to make sense of anything else. Everything I was founded upon—my belief in Fate—wasn't just wrong; it opposed the will of Fate.

After what felt like an eternity of nothingness, a sudden burning sensation coursed throughout my body. _My body? I don't have a body. Do I? I…I used to, I think._ A searing pain shot through each and every inch of a body I didn't have, slowly going through every crack with a meticulous precision. I tried to scream in pain or shock, but still no sound came.

It wasn't until the flame had consumed my entire body that I realized that it had stopped. Once I did, breath hitched. _My breath? Since when do I breathe?_ I tightened my grip— _grip? Grip what? With what?—_ and focused on what was going on.

I had a body again. It felt…familiar, like a home that you come back to after a long vacation, or an extended stay away. I was on my hands and knees, and I opened my eyes to find I was naked.

But those thoughts didn't run through my mind. I looked up to see two pairs of feet. One of them I did not recognize, but the other…it was _**her**_. And the one next to _**her**_ loomed over _**her**_ , making it very clear who was in charge.

"Pyrrha Nikos…" This new, powerful voice said as she gazed deep into my eyes. I was entranced by the authority and power this woman held. _If she rules over_ _ **her**_ _with impunity, what speck am I?_

"Y-Yes?" I asked back very course as I flexed my vocal cords for what felt like the first time.

"I would like to speak with you. Tell me, would you be willing to speak with me about Destiny?"

" _Yes._ "

* * *

 **Author's Note: _That_ is my favorite scene. It's so special that I had to hide whose POV it was and make you work for it! :P**


	13. One Step In All Directions

**Author's Note: In the original excerpt here, I had a fangirl-freakout over someone else's FanFic,** Not this time, Fate. **Go read it if you haven't, but let's be honest: there's no way you're into RWBY FanFics like this one without having read it already...**

... _It is easily the best 600,000 words I have ever read. If you have read it, then here: DAMN IT CHAPTER 47 I AM SO ANGRY AND SCARED AND CONFUSED AND I CAN'T BREATHE HOLY CRAP THIS IS HAPPENING._

 _That is all. Now back to my fanfiction._

* * *

Past

(Salem's POV)

I could see it in his eyes. Even through the monitor and the video chat, I could see the doubts in Watts' eyes. The way they would subtly shift to the side of the screen when he thought I wasn't looking at him gave it away. Of course, he was smart enough to keep his opinions to himself, but evidently not smart enough to not have them.

I suppose it cannot be held against him; all of my generals had their reservations and needed it explained to them. Some of them caught on to my plan quicker than others—Watts was significantly more perceptive than Tyrian—but that doesn't mean that I still don't notice their hesitance. _They would be wise not to have any._

My eyes glanced off to the side to check on the girl in question, and true to form the Nikos girl stood there, standing against the wall and just observing everything. That was their biggest qualm, that I would let a potential enemy observe our meetings, but that is where their understanding of the situation ends. The Pyrrha Nikos that Ozpin picked as his Maiden candidate, the Pyrrha Nikos that pushed Cinder as far as she could, is not the one standing here. That Pyrrha died when an arrow pierced her heel. No, the girl standing here now doesn't know who or what she is, or wants to be. What's been made clear to her is that Fate was not on her side, and as Fate is all she had to begin with, she's now struggling internally. You can see the struggle in her eyes at all times, now. Her head tells her that I am evil and what I do is wrong, but yet her heart and soul was based on Fate, which she now believes belongs to me.

In the end, the choice is too difficult to make, and that is why it won't matter what she sees or knows. No matter what she chooses, she can't commit to fighting for a side. If she chooses to follow Destiny, then she will have to fight her conscience and her morals. But if she chooses what she thinks is right? She'll be fighting against her very own heart. She wouldn't pose a threat to a mouse in a mental state like that.

"If you are looking for a use for yourself, Dr. Watts, you could begin by bringing the boy in." I stated into the monitor to let Watts know that I knew what the glances he shot towards Pyrrha meant.

" _Of course. Allow my leave and I shall fetch him._ "

I nodded in reply. As Watts moved off camera, the sound of a door opening and closing indicated he had left to fetch the Arc boy. I turned to my side to face the girl previously in question, and she timidly returned my gaze. "I would ask you, Miss Nikos, to stand off to the side, out of frame, for this meeting. At least, that is until you are asked to step in, which I do not doubt will happen." The girl shyly nodded and kept her eyes on the floor as she shuffled a few steps to her side.

"I-I have a question." Her voice very softly and very uncertainly chimed in.

"I'll permit it."

"W-why does it matter i-if he can see me? _Who_ is it?"

"Review what you know, and you will find why being seen when it is not necessary is a poor plan." I answered back, challenging her to think critically instead of answering foolish questions. All in all, my reply had enough of an edge to it for her to have found a good enough answer there.

" _Mistral._ If they are in Mistral, t-then they would have a high chance of recognizing me." She trailed off, and I nodded along to prod her to continue. "A-and if someone placed me here, there isn't any way I could go back."

"Valid points and easily enough to move two steps to the side, don't you think?" I let the redundancy of the question hang in the air a few seconds to create tension. "However, in this particular case, the point is moot. You shall see why I wanted you to the side when he appears." The shock through her system when she learns of the Arc boy's involvement is likely to further confuse her, making her choice all the more likely to be to choose neither side. _I only regret that I won't be able to watch her face fall when she sees him._

As if by design, the noise of a door being opened came from the video feed, followed shortly by Dr. Watts and Jaune Arc. Watts stood in the back and directed Jaune to stand before the camera.

"Mr. Arc, I'm told that you _demanded_ 'proof of life' before you would continue with our plans. This is quite a bold request coming from someone with no leverage whatsoever. Do you have anything to give me in return, or are you wasting my time?" No longer am I using kids' gloves with this boy. It's time he learns who and what he is dealing with, and act accordingly. To his credit, he did not flinch as much someone like Tyrian would have, but then again, if I so much as cut my eyes at Tyrian he is liable to cry.

" _Preparations on my end are complete. A few days ago I infiltrated the Atlas' command ship to test my credentials and create an opening for our plans. As is, everything is ready_." The boy paused, as if expected a pat on the back or a reward for doing what was expected of him. Once he realized what my flat glare meant, he nervously continued. " _I-if I go over the complete plan, would that be enough for proof of life?_ "

"As long as the plan is good."

" _Our entrance is simple. Neo poses as an Atlas guard and even has a credential to get on the ship. As a Huntsman, I will take Mercury into custody and we will escort him onto the command ship. When we get to Mercury's cell, Neo will create a glass illusion of Mercury laying on his cot, behind which Mercury will put on an Atlas uniform and then lock me in the cell. I'll call for help from one of my…_ more gullible _contacts who'd believe that I accidentally locked myself in. Mercury sabotages the engines and Neo sabotages the explosives in the Weapon's Storage. Once the ship is under attack, I make my way to the bridge where I assassinate Ironwood under the cover of an unnecessary number of flashbangs and smoke grenades. As the ship goes into a panic, Neo slips in to download anything she can get off of Atlas' main hard drive. From there, we all take whatever escape pods are nearest and use Dr. Watts coding to override the escape pods' landing directive._ "

Silence hung in the air as I thought over the plan. It was simple, sure, but complex plans weren't always a good thing. Sure, they were harder to predict, but this plan didn't need any sort of sophistication. It hinged on betrayal of a trusted Huntsman rather than infiltration, like Cinder's plot against Beacon. And should it fail, all I would lose is one of Cinder's pawns, a loose end in Torchwick's pet, and an Arc. The rewards were certainly worth the risks, and to top it off this wasn't even the main attack against Mistral. This was merely a boon that had fallen in my lap.

"Watts, how do things look from your end?"

" _It…should work. From what my intel suggests, Atlas doesn't suspect Arc of betrayal. He's not even on their radar. I don't see any reason it would fail, at least not from the plans_."

Silence hung in the air again as I stared into the Arc boy's eyes. He fought the urge to squirm, but otherwise stood tall.

"Well done, Mr. Arc," I let out after I felt the tension in the air had grown thick enough. "Are you sure this is your first time committing treason? It would appear you have a talent for it." He didn't respond—a wise choice—but he failed to hide his anger at my comments. _It's obvious what side he still falls on. Oh, young love._

"Very well. Miss Nikos, if you would be so kind as to step forward."

* * *

Present

(Qrow's POV)

" _Surprised?_ "

"No, seriously, _what_ the _hell_?!" I shouted. On the screen before Winter and I stood the prisoner we had just left not a minute ago, Jaune Arc, in what looked like a staging area. In the background, a short girl with multicolored hair looked to be arming herself without a care in the world about being on camera.

" _If all goes well, I plan on surrendering to Atlas later today. Well…_ sort of." The call ended after that, and more likely than not the Scroll's battery would be removed or it would be destroyed entirely. The call wasn't nearly long enough for a trace, either.

"Does someone want to explain what the fuck is going on here?!" Winter shouted, followed by a long series of angry commands trying to ascertain what the fuck had actually happened here. I stormed out and made a beeline for the interrogation room I had just left. When I arrived, I barged into the observation room, half expecting to find everyone incapacitated. I was not prepared to find them all standing around, bored.

"Hey Uncle Qrow! How'd it go with that number…?" Yang called out as I entered, clearly missing the look of murder on my face.

A quick glance towards the observation glass showed that Jaune and Ruby still sat there, with Ruby staring down at her hands and Jaune just napping with his head on the table. With a closer look, however, you would notice that they weren't moving at all. I walked up to the glass and tapped on it to startle the occupants of the room, confused that they still appeared to be here, but nearly leapt a foot when the glass shattered at my touch. Judging by numerous gasps around the room, I was not the only one surprised.

More surprising was that the shards of glass that had shattered fell to the ground and disappeared, leaving a perfectly intact window in its place, albeit one with a view of an empty room.

"Wait, _what_?" Someone behind me blurted out.

The door to the observation room swung open and a similarly-pissed Winter stormed in.

"In under a minute, this kid goes from being chained to a table with a room of onlookers to an undisclosed safe house arming himself for a fight." I surmised aloud, gathering my thoughts. "Yang, does that sound like anyone we know?"

Yang went stiff as she locked eyes with me. "…no way."

"Qrow, that's impossible. Atlas has…ways of keeping her out." Winter interjected.

"You got a better answer, then?" She fell silent, along with the rest of the room. I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Anyone else notice that Ruby is gone too?" Nora blurted out to break the silence, only serving to make things tenser.

I let out a second sigh and instinctively reached for my flask, only to find it still empty. "Yang and Ren, you two are not to go anywhere without me, Winter, or an armed escort."

"Why?" They both asked in unison.

"First Ruby, now Raven. This kid is either has something against the letter 'R' or he is determined to drag my family into this."

* * *

Past

(Jaune's POV)

Weiss had made good on her promise, and she did not disappoint. Though she had only managed to slip me in for a few minutes with General Ironwood, she had indeed secured a private meeting with the man. _It's a shame that I've now drug Weiss into this._

I gave Neo—clad in her Atlas uniform and armed with a flash drive she had commissioned by some of her criminal connections—a curt nod as we split up. Her job would be nearly impossible for me, but given her impressive array of stealthy abilities, not to mention how badly I would not want to be anyone who tried to stop her, I felt confident she had the easier role. After all, she was just disabling a secret force field that technically did not exist. Piece of cake, right?

I checked the time on my scroll—close enough, I suppose—and entered the elevator, followed by punching in the code I was given to reach the bridge. _That will make things easier for the actual attack, as long as they don't change that code._ Then again, if this went well, that may be a moot point.

I exited the elevator and made my way down the hall until I found where the General's office was. Weiss hadn't been able to find out what he had been doing before my appointment or why he would be in his office instead of the command deck or teleconference room, but it made things easier for me.

Instead of wasting the manpower on an assistant, Ironwood had a single, non-combat Atlas robot waiting outside his door with a card-scanner in his hand. It didn't take a genius to figure out what to do, so I scanned my Beacon ID. Technically, when I was admitted into Beacon, I was issued a full-fledged Huntsman ID, which would be recognizable to any country or military. Where Beacon might have only seen me as a First Year, to the rest of the world I was technically a Huntsman. The 'in training' part didn't matter.

After a few moments, the door slid open and a voice from within told me to enter. As I did so, I found the General sitting behind a desk, typing away at something. He rose to greet me and I strode forward to shake his hand over his desk when he offered. "Ah, I'm glad you're early. I got out of a meeting with an Atlas engineer earlier than I had expected."

"That is…fortunate." I responded, cursing how unfortunate it was. _Dammit, I was supposed to stall, and now I've started my meeting five minutes early._

"Indeed. I'll admit I was surprised when Specialist Schnee asked for a favor, and even more so when I learned it was this. She never would admit to why, though. Do you mind if I ask?" Ironwood asked in good nature.

"It is somewhat of a long—and embarrassing, in a 'Qrow Branwen' sort of way—story, but I kinda took her sister on a date?" I answered, not at _all_ confident in my answer or happy that this conversation had _already_ gotten too close, but unable to do anything to avoid it when I needed to squeeze as much time out of this as possible.

" _Really_? I would expect Specialist Schnee to skewer you on a pike sooner than she would be doing a favor for you if that was the reason." Ironwood answered with a small smile but genuine humor in his eyes. The bags under his eyes painted a picture that he hadn't had much humor—or sleep—recently. _If he's looking for any distraction, I should oblige._

"Yeah, well, remember the 'Qrow' part? I've still got the whole 'wounded puppy' thing going for me…"

" _Ah_ , yes, I remember what happened to Miss Nikos." The General trailed off and had the decency to look down at the mention of her name, a gesture that I deeply appreciated. _It seems the loss of life genuinely bothers him still. I like that; I still can't read Qrow's emotions, if he has any._ "However, I don't think I understand your reference to Ozpin's left-hand man. What do you mean by Qrow?"

"Well, let's say that I tried the Qrow Branwen Method of Dealing with Your Problems™," I made a gesture with my hands to indicate chugging from a bottle, "and it didn't go well. I wasn't deterred and tried it a second time, just to make sure it wasn't going to work."

Ironwood cringed—more saddened than disappointed or angered—as he caught my meaning. However, he was the first person so far that did not appear to immediately judge me for it. _It's a shame that I have to kill this guy. I actually kind of like him so far._

"Well, at least you were thorough," he tagged onto the end of my somewhat-humorous explanation. "I'm going assume that your friends have been right there for you once they found out?" I nodded. "I suspected as much. That's a very tight group, yours and team RWBY. Ozpin spoke of how he paid close attention to your teams."

What went unsaid was why, though knowing what I do now, it's obvious. _Ruby's eyes were the main reason she got into Beacon so early, so of course he would keep a close watch on her. Plus, team RWBY had two of Qrow's nieces on it, so naturally Ozpin would be entertained. As for my team, well…he selected Pyrrha to be his Maiden, so he clearly had been watching._ And if he watched both teams, then he doubtless knew of how close our teams were. That he would discuss it with Ironwood was odd, or was it? Ironwood may have had a say in choosing Ozpin's Maiden, so discussing all angles would be necessary.

"Indeed. Weiss felt…well, guilty is the best word for it, so she promised to leverage her sister so I could meet with you."

"Ah, of course. I have an idea, but would you like to tell me what you wanted to meet me for?"

 _Showtime, Jaune. Just buy time._

"I feel uncomfortable just asking outright the leader of Atlas' Military for a favor, but I was wondering if you could help me with, well…why I was drinking."

"I have seen many good men eaten up by similar things, Jaune. Survivor's guilt in some cases, or just the sorrow of losing someone close to you. It tears away at us all." He took a long breath as he stared off at no particular part of the wall. "If there's something I can do to help, I'd like to know what it is." He stated sincerely, not even hiding the exhaustion I had noticed earlier. _I guess it would make sense that a General would have seen his fair share of loss and suffering._

"It's just…I've heard Ruby's tale of how _it_ ended, but she didn't exactly get there in time, or stay conscious. Anything I can find out about the fight or the aftermath would, I hope, help give me closure." _That's good, don't say too much. You still need another minute or two out of this_.

I glanced down to check my scroll. No messages yet. _Come on, Neo._

"I think I see. Well, you probably know then that it was Atlas Special Forces that cleared Beacon Tower to search for Ozpin and recover anything we could. However, your best bet would be Qrow. He was the first on the scene, what with saving his niece and all, and he also came back and searched the Tower first." _That would explain how he had Ozpin's cane on him as we cared him here._

"I'm not…exactly on speaking terms with Qrow at the moment. The ass-chewing that he gave me for getting drunk aside, I'm don't trust Qrow, at least not after he used us a bait."

Ironwood took my words with an absent nod, indicating that he had already heard about our encounter with…with… _damn it, what_ was _that dude's name? T-dawg? TJ? Terry?_ Not surprising, but disappointing, as explaining myself there would have bought me more time.

"I suppose I can understand that." Ironwood said idly as he began typing and clicking away at his screen. After about a minute, he reached his hand and held it out in front of me. "Hand me your ID, please."

I dug it back out and placed it in his hand, and he took it and scanned it into his screen. Once done, he handed it back.

"I've just given you security clearance for the after-action reports from the Specialists that combed through Beacon, specifically those pertaining to Ozpin's office. There is a lot of information here, but I think you'll find it paints a… _thorough_ picture."

A buzz at my side from my scroll alerted me, and I didn't need to check it to know what it was. _Neo came through._ I let the relief from that text show, letting Ironwood believe it was genuine relief from his help. What would it hurt, after all?

I stood up to grab the ID as he handed it back, and he began to stand up as well. Before he could, a strange noise cut through the air as a large red portal suddenly opened by the wall to the side. Ironwood's utter surprise was quickly replaced with anger as he swiftly reached to his hip for his weapon. However, since I had stood up first I was in prime position to draw my sword and use it to pin his arm down, at least until Raven had finished _strutting_ into the room.

"Ah, _Jimmy_ …" Raven greeted with an obviously fake sweetness as she drew her sword and held it inches from Ironwood's neck. "Let's talk business."


	14. (Literally) Blood on my Hands

**Author's Note: I can be an ass sometimes, and I love it. Here is the original Author's Note, for proof:**

 _Author's Note: Ah, the familiar routine. I write a chapter, you review that chapter, those reviews stroke my ego, I write another chapter. The way it was meant to be… :P_

 _I have decided to make the Author's note in bold type, because variety is the spice of life. Some might argue that continuity would be a wiser choice, but seriously, who wants continuity in their writing? ugh._

 _Things are really picking up, now, aren't they? It'd be a shame if I were to throw a curveball in there, huh?_

 _Also, this chapter introduces a new type of time skip, or whatever you'd like to call the setting for each section of the chapter._

* * *

Past

(Jaune's POV)

"Just stay with me, Ruby. It'll be over soon enough, just don't die on me." I muttered whatever calmed me down the most as I laid Ruby down on the small Medic's cot on the dropship. "If you die, you have no idea how bad things will be for me." _A healthy dose of selfishness;_ that _will make her want to live._ "I promise, this will all be worth it."

I set her down and wrapped her abdomen with cloth as tightly as I could in such short notice, but I needed to get the engines running. I stepped back and observed for a split-moment to ensure something drastic wouldn't happen as soon as I turned my back. Nothing did, so I ran to the pilot's console and primed the engines with the key I had stolen not too long ago. It's amazing what you can find in an abandoned hangar during an emergency.

I rushed back over to Ruby to apply more pressure on her wounds, or at least the dangerous one. One of the shots grazed her side and barely did anything more than scratch her, but the one I'm worried about hit near her belly button. _I'm certainly not qualified to pull these out, so the best I can do is keep pressur—_

My thoughts were cut off as cold steel came to rest against the side of my neck, pressed in hard enough to draw a small amount of blood—just enough to confirm to my attacker that I had no aura left.

"What the hell is this?!" Neo's voice came from the side. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was slightly pleased that she deigned it necessary to use her voice for me. Somewhere else in my mind recognized how bad it was that she felt it necessary to threaten me with her voice. "You know the deal, Jaune. If she dies before I get what I want, then she won't be the only one."

"Well, in the spirit of not-killing Ruby, why don't you fucking take off already? We'll have to drop her off anonymously at an emergency room, unless you have a roaming squad of criminal surgeons that can meet us at the safe house." With a _very_ frustrated huff, Neo withdrew her umbrella-blade and walked over to the console, where she started checking gauges and flipping switches until we were beginning to lift off.

"I'll shoot Mercury an encrypted text and let him know we had to find an _alternate_ exit strategy. Think he's on to us?" I asked as I pulled out my scroll, then realized that my hands were too bloody from trying to help Ruby, who had now lost consciousness. On the up side, her bleeding was slowing and it was looking as if I _didn't_ kill her, which was a very, very good thing. "On second thought, I can't type with my hands soaked in blood."

"Why not? I do it all the time…" Neo called back in a tone that left me uncertain whether or not she was kidding. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her pull out her scroll and begin typing one-handed without ever looking at the screen. "I'll take care of it. You just don't let her die… _yet._ "

"What's our ETA? Oh, and…we _do_ have the cargo, right?"

"I'd say five minutes out, and _yes_ , of course we do. What do I look like, _you_?"

It's unsettling to hear her speak, and not just because she's only used it to threaten my life and insult my most basic functionality.

Silence fell in the ship as we glided down to the city below. All around us there were escape pods that had been launched and even a few other airships, Atlas and Mistralian, flying around with no one shooting them down, meaning that Mistral must have been informed that this was _not_ an invasion. It also likely meant that no one would bat an eye when we flew down among all the escape pods.

"Well, if this isn't just a perfect metaphor," I joked darkly as I looked down at my hands, still covered in Ruby's blood as I kept pressure on her wounds. Neo looked back to see what I was talking about, but only rolled her eyes and resumed piloting. "Blood on my hands. Today did not go entirely like I had hoped it would." My musing was met with silence by Neo, though whether she was angry still, I couldn't tell.

"How many did you kill?" Neo asked finally, catching me off guard. "No plan survives contact with the enemy. We both made it to the ship, we have Ruby—though worse for wear, it's still a bonus—and Mercury is none the wiser. With all that went right, _something_ had to go wrong for you."

"F-five." I choked out in response. "I…I killed five people that I had no intention of doing so to. They…they didn't deserve it, you know? But needs must." Neo didn't answer, but she didn't need to. It was obvious that I wasn't trying to convince _her_ that my actions were justified; she had likely long ago made her peace with ending someone else's life. No, it certainly wasn't her I was trying to convince.

"They were just doing their jobs. Th-they didn't know. They couldn't have, could they? Do you think they could see it in my eyes, that I was sorry but I _had_ to?"

I was met with silence.

"I stared directly into this one guy's eyes. He was just at the terminal in the observation deck, minding his own business. _I_ charged in and he saw me attack Ironwood. I _had_ to do it; I couldn't just leave such a large loose end. We need as much time bought as we can get, right?"

Silence. The hum of the engines, the howl of the wind, and nothing more.

"Jaune." Neo barked back sharply, trying to get my attention. "Focus. If this all fails, they died for nothing. When we land, I have an associate who can do some emergency surgery on Ruby and dig out the bullets. From there, I'll have someone take her to the hospital. Do you remember your jobs?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. _Intercept Mercury._ One of two landing spots, I go to one and you the other. Are your teams in place?" Neo nodded and I nearly fell over as Neo pulled up to slow our decent suddenly. _She's not kidding around; we're coming in hot._

"I don't think a team of thugs alone is going to be enough to get him. One of us _has_ to be there."

We landed shortly in the lawn of one of Neo's large mansion properties, and as soon as we did teams of people started rushing on the ship as I made my way off. _Two men with laptops and wires, here to disable the ship's tracking._ Several men pushed through with some medical supplies, so Ruby would (probably) be fine. Others still walked around to the cargo hatch with an empty cargo crate.

I pushed out and found two motorcycles waiting, engines already started. I hopped on—and yes, I put the helmet on—and switched the engine into gear. _Thank dust that my dad_ forced _me to learn how to drive a stick._ It may not have been a motorcycle, but it was enough to get me through it.

I made my way through traffic at a frantic pace that scared the daylights out of me, but I didn't have the luxury of slowing down. If I was sticking to the script, it would _still_ be pushing it for time. But…I had one more stop I needed to make. I pulled up in front of the Nikos' residence and dismounted the motorcycle, while leaving it running.

I walked up to their front porch and took off Crocea Mors, laying it gently in front of their door. I sat there and stared at it for a moment, the pristine sword and sheath combo almost mocking me now.

"Fair's fair. I used her weapons to re-forge mine. Besides, it's not something I deserve to wield anymore."

I ran back to the bike and hoped back on, racing a few blocks away until I came across a storage facility. I didn't have time to worry about not appearing normal as I charged through, using the codes Neo had lent me. I finally found the locker and opened it, revealing one of Torchwick's weapon caches—and not just normal thug weaponry. These were weapons that would suit a Huntsman…in a pinch, at least. I didn't have time to be picky or to grab something specialized, so I grabbed some pistols and tucked them in my waistline, before grabbing an unassuming sword—nearly as long as mine, but nothing so drastic that I couldn't use it—and a plain old square shield.

Now armed, I locked the shed back up and raced back outside to the motorcycle, before I drove off to where I hoped on my life that Mercury would _not_ be landing.

* * *

Mercury had not landed at my landing zone, and after an hour of waiting, I had ordered Neo's thugs to follow me to the original rendezvous that Mercury would have made his way to after landing—and where he would have expected Neo and I to meet him. However, after a few more hours waiting there—with radio silence from both Neo and Mercury—I dispersed the thugs.

Another three hours of waiting before I finally got a text.

 _Ice-Cream: Got him. Successfully. Have been handling other things. R alive too. Meet at Point Charlie._

 _Me: Copy._

The spot I had been waiting for Mercury had been a coffee shop—a real hole-in-the-wall sort of place that would have hidden us from view well enough—and it was in a semi-seedy part of town. Because of that, I didn't understand all the weird looks that I received when I stood up and destroyed my scroll. _Surely these people have seen someone who didn't want to be tracked; this is the kinda place where you just look the other way._

Behind me, I heard an explosion. A very familiar explosion, too. As soon as I heard it, I understood why everyone was looking at me funny. It was because there was a furious berserker launching herself at me, with murder very plainly plastered across her face. Oh, and the battle cry she let out was terrifying, too.

" _JAAAAAAAAUUUUUNNNNNNEEEE!_ " Nora's voice approached me at an alarming pace, letting me know just exactly when her hammer would collide with my face. Spoiler alert, it didn't take long. I was launched into a brick wall with enough force to shatter a lot of the brick, and I slumped down immediately. My aura, which had been repairing itself slowly since earlier, shattered again as I hit the wall, leaving me battered and defenseless after one blow.

I looked up just in time to see Nora's hammer coming down on me, and before I could even process what would easily be a killing blow, it was deflected to hit the dirt next to my head by Ren.

"NORA!" He screamed, only just barely breaking her of her attempted murder. _Well, it wouldn't be murder, I suppose. She'd more likely get a medal than handcuffs._ "We still don't have Ruby!"

 _Heh. Nothing to do with not wanted to kill a friend._ As if to accentuate that he wasn't opposed to violence against me, Ren swiftly kicked me in the temple, knocking me out.

* * *

Present

(Dr. Watts' POV)

"Ah, Mr. Arc. I had begun to believe that no one survived your mission. It's been over 24 hours with no contact from any of you." I stated flatly, though my real meaning was not difficult to infer.

"Yes, well, our escape plan hit a snag." The boy stated back.

"And what would that have been?"

"We never got the chance to use them." He stated back quickly, though he didn't seem invested in his own joke. "Atlas clamped down on both Mercury and myself much more quickly than they should have. Neo evaded capture and came back to get me out of custody."

The boys answer felt very carefully worded, and while that was suspicious, it didn't necessarily mean that he was lying. He clearly recognizes the importance of me believing whatever he tells me, so he's just as likely to rehearse the truth as he is a lie; a truth, poorly told, is easily mistaken for a lie, after all.

"So you left Cinder's man to rot in an Atlas prison?" I asked pointedly, hoping to test him. If what he was telling was the truth, then it would be easy to separate it from a lie with a little pressure.

"Mercury was never on the books. As a terrorist, they took him to some unlisted torture site, I'm sure. Jaune wasn't a wanted terrorist, and he was a former Huntsman, so it was more difficult to make him disappear." It was the girl—Neo, Torchwick's successor, if rumors are anything to go by—who answered. _Disappointing that the kid kept his mouth shut there, but again, it was a situation where he wouldn't have had an answer anyways._

"Well, I assume this call is to confirm that you completed the mission?" I wasn't ready to believe everything they had said, but whether or not I believed it, there still was the matter of the original goals of the mission. _A raw data hack—possibly even just stolen hard drives—means there is no telling what was recovered, but that also means there's a chance that there's something fun on them._ "I'll need to speak with my _employer_ about getting your _payment_ shipped to Mistral, and from there we will orchestrate a simple exchange. That is assuming, of course, that you still have something to exchange that is…worthwhile."

My words were a very clear challenge to the boy to produce something of actual value, and I know that he recognizes it. The stakes here are much higher for him than they are for us, after all.

To my slight surprise, the boy didn't shy away at my pointed words; in fact, he actually _grinned_ at me.

"Well…" he reached down and picked up what appeared to be two hard drives that had been resting out of frame, "…it seems that I have two Atlas hard drives right here, cherrypicked—or rather, cherry- _yanked_ —from the 'hush hush, no no' server hidden deep in Atlas' onboard server room. These must have loads of juicy secrets, huh, Neo? How much data do you think is here?" The boys voice grew bolder—playful, even—as he riffed with the girl next to him.

"Oh, I'd say at least a gigabyte." She answered back playfully, much to my surprise. For someone who refuses to speak, she sure seems to talk a lot.

"Oh _wow,_ a whole gigabyte? That sounds like a lot!" The boy mocked back, before finally turning his face back to the camera. "How does that sound, a whole gigabyte of Atlas state secrets?"

"If you only recovered one gigabyte from two hard drives, then I would say you probably just got your friend killed." I answered back flatly, although I did enjoy playing their little game. I just preferred to win it.

"Aw, shucks. Well, we tried, huh?" The boy answered back, still mocking. With any of Salem's other generals—or dust forbid, Salem herself—such flippant behavior would have very quickly caused violence, but truth be told, that never was my style. When you keep the grand scheme in mind, small things like this were no annoyance. "Wait, aren't I forgetting something? It seems like I had something else I wanted to show you."

I raised an eyebrow as he looked to Neo with his faux-concern on his face; she just shrugged at him. Had he brought more than the deal required of him? _Smart kid, apparently. Trying to appease Salem with an additional offering, or hoping to sweeten the pot so as to ensure that he got his payment._

"Oh! I remember now!" He announced as he pointed the camera off to the side, where someone small was on their knees—in chains, with a bag over their head. The boy walked over and removed the bag, and this time I made no effort to conceal my surprise. "Ta-da!"

Sitting there on her knees, with her neck and her wrists in chains, was Ruby Rose, the girl that Tyrian failed to abduct not a month ago. Salem had ordered her to be captured alive or otherwise left untouched, meaning that if you could not guarantee that you could capture her without causing her harm, then you should _not_ try: doing so required a great deal of confidence, which was why it was all the more surprising that Salem's sanctioned attack by Tyrian failed. _This…this is unexpected._

What the Arc boy did not need to know was that Salem had already authorized me to make the exchange, though it did not come without her instructions. The orders were short but specific: no double crossing him, and don't show up in person. Salem seems intent this deal go through and that Miss Nikos be returned, so whatever she did to try to convince her not to take up arms again, she must trust the results. The other part of the order was more confusing. _Why wouldn't I be there in person for an exchange? Conventional wisdom says it means she expects to be double crossed, but I can always bring more men; it isn't as if there is a threat._ Could it be about insubordination? So far, the Salem has shown this boy far more interest—and lenience—than any of us would have. Judging by the sharp words I received earlier, she knows how we all view this situation, as well, so this order could be to keep me from investigating the boy further.

Under the expected circumstances, it was an order that I would begrudgingly follow. But now, when this boy is offering up a prisoner that Tyrian couldn't even capture as a bonus to sweeten the deal? Well, now I just _have_ to meet this kid.

"I…am not often at a loss for words, but it appears you have stunned me here, Mr. Arc. I have many questions, but they can best be summarized by ' _how?_ '

"Earlier you were a prisoner of Atlas, and now not only are you free, but you also took a _highly_ sought-after prisoner?"

"Ah, well…" The boy fumbled his words. It would seem his prepared lines didn't cover this, but I hardly noticed. I still can't fully believe it. "It was certainly a crime of opportunity. One might even say it was dumb luck."

I narrowed my eyes at his answer. "Mr. Arc, I was under the impression you didn't believe in luck."

" _Heh._ I make my own luck." He answered quietly, after a small chuckle. It was almost as if it was an inside joke with himself.

"I shall send the details of the exchange to your scroll shortly. My employer will be…quite pleased, I am sure."

With a short nod exchanged, I ended the call. Immediately, I began dialing in the encrypted address for Salem's private communications line. It rang for a few moments before being answered.

"Yes, Watts? What news necessitated this call?"

"My Queen, I have _quite_ the news for you…"

* * *

Future

(Salem's POV)

"Mr. Arc, please take a seat. Ms. Nikos too." I called out as the two in question strode through the door. The table I sat at was empty—I had already sent all of my minions away for the time being. This meeting was to be a private affair, and one that I have been looking forward for a _long_ time, though I must say I was surprised that Jaune would show up uninvited.

"Why, Jaune Arc, are you here?" I asked.

"I'll tell you why. My mother had this… _thing_ about her, where if she learned any minuscule detail of your life through means other than you telling her, she _instantly_ decided that things were the worst case scenario."

"From what I understand, things with you usually _are_ the worst case scenario."

" _The problem…_ " he continued, slightly aggravated that I had interjected. _It takes a lot of courage—and foolishness—to treat me like that._ "…with this policy of paranoia, is that once she has made up her mind, no amount or reasoning can change it. In the long run, it is much smarter to control _how_ she discovers your secrets so that you can do damage control. And if she _did_ find something on her own, you _have_ to 'come clean' about it before she ever confronts you about it."

"And that is why you are here? I remind you of your mother?" I asked, slightly bemused. His analogy, however, did make sense.

"Oh hell no. You're way less scary, but you _resemble_ her, so I would prefer to not piss you off…anymore so that I already have."

"You have certainly grown bold, _Jaune._ " I responded with a light chuckle. "I will say, there are not many people in _this_ world who would—quite frankly—have the balls to double cross me. But of those who have, they have then spent their life running, nay, _praying_ that I did not find them. And yet, here you sit before me as a guest."

The boy had the good sense to flinch as I mentioned double-crossings, so at least he isn't stupid, though I'm sure that had already been established.

"Look, I'm here to explain to you _why_ I did it, and hopefully convince you to either _not_ hold a massive grudge, or to at least not take it out on those around me." The boy looked up to meet my eyes, and made a point of holding my gaze, either to show he was not afraid or that he was serious. "I'm sure that you're aware what my friends mean to me, and they didn't have anything to do with this. Everything I did, I did it without their knowledge, so it should only be _me_ that you come after." The girl at his side shot him a look, but was easily pacified when he glanced her way for a moment. _She's wrapped around his finger._

"Well, Mr. Arc, I'm all ears."

* * *

 **Author's Note 2: This last section required an edit to keep it consistent with how the story actually plays out. I wrote this section just to set up an easy epilogue in the Future setting, but as it drew closer I changed some of the delivery to make a better ending/epilogue, and this last section has been changed to be consistent with that.**


	15. On Your Mark, Get Set

**Author's Note: Moving right along, nothing to see here.**

* * *

Present

(Qrow's POV)

I flew over the trees from the nearby forest, having chosen it for our meeting location. It was far away from prying eyes and the like, but was still easily within range for me. I had a sneaking suspicion it was a close location for her too, but it isn't as if she couldn't meet anywhere anytime.

My flight was lazy and uninspired, as I was distracted by my thoughts the whole way over. I struggled to grasp things that lay just before me, but even so things were coming into focus. One thing was for sure: I am done underestimating this Arc kid. In a very short amount of time, he has made significant connections that no one ever thought to check for, and if they had they would have ruled them out as preposterous. Close ties to organized crime, _non-Fang_ terrorists (Salem's people, to those of us in the know), and now possibly my own sister. Did he reach out to the Tribe, or could he have been raised by them and sent to Beacon? It wouldn't be the first time, but Ozpin had seen right through our applications and let us in anyways. Had he done the same with Jaune? _Surely not. Ozpin liked his secrets, but accepting a student from the Tribe is absolutely something he would have told me…if for no other reason than to hear my objections._ Tribe or not, what was his end game? Surely he didn't allow himself to be interrogated as long as he had before breaking out for no reason, so there must have been some ulterior motive behind sitting in Interrogation. _This kid took out_ Ironwood _as just his first step, or maybe his end of a bargain. What does he have left to do?_

The one question I didn't need to ask, was who had the power and the influence to put Jaune Arc on this path. That much, at least, was obvious. _Salem._

A warm updraft hit me from beneath, lifting me further and allowing me to glide. Normally, the chance to fly through the forest with a cool breeze behind me would have felt nice, therapeutic even. Not quite as therapeutic as, well, anything with alcohol, but the next best thing. _Well, okay, the_ third _best thing._ Warm sun mixed with a cool breeze of fresh air, even this close to Mistral's capital, was not something I would have taken for granted. Under normal circumstances, this would actually be fun. _I haven't lived in 'normal circumstances' since…well, my Beacon years. And even then, Team STRQ was also busy. And strange._

Speaking of Team STRQ, I spotted my target circling overhead lazily, likely keeping an eye out for my arrival. Once she saw me, she dropped straight down out of the sky and punched into the tree line, and I followed her down until we landed.

"Ah, brother dearest, what can I do for you today?" Raven called out with a smirk as I landed, she having already changed back to her normal form.

"Let me tell you a story." I started, but was cut off before I could continue.

"Oh, is it another fairy tale? I'll be honest, I'm quite sick of those by now." Raven interjected, looking all the more smug for it.

I grunted my displeasure at being cut-off, but she didn't care. "So here I am, interrogating this kid who had gotten tangled up with _things_ he shouldn't have. I leave the room for a minute, and when I come back, he's gone. It was like he vanished." I gave Raven a look that said I wasn't in the mood for any of her bullshit redirections. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

" _Me?_ 'Fraid not. Atlas ships have shielding that prevents my _means of transportation_ …" She replied, smug grin still present.

"Funny, Winter Schnee said the same thing. And yet, I can't help but notice your means of transportation for this meeting involved a lot of flapping. It's almost like you were already in the area."

She just shrugged that same damn shrug that she _always_ does, the one the Yang mimics perfectly, even though she's never seen her mother do it.

"Also, _sis_ , I never told you it was on an Atlas ship." Normally, it would be my turn to grin as her grin disappeared, but I still wasn't in the mood. Too much on my mind still; too many pieces I couldn't quite make fit.

"I don't suppose I could convince you that was intuition, then." I gave her a small, frustrated head shake. "Your face reminds me of the time your sword jammed and you couldn't figure out how to fix it for a week. Something got you puzzled?" Her grin was back, albeit less intense now. "By the way, _Tai_ jammed your sword. He took out one of the gears and replaced it with one that was _slightly_ too large." While that could be true, she was just trying to rile me up and distract me. I'm not in the mood.

" _Why?_ What could he have possibly offered you?"

"It wasn't him, necessarily. That's your problem, Qrow: you aren't connecting _all_ of the pieces on the board. You've connected some of them, but you can't see how they all interact. _He_ didn't offer me anything, but there was an exchange of favors."

"I suspected that much, but I still don't see what you gained from all this. I didn't think the Tribe was all that interested in attacking Atlas."

Her grin was back, as fiercely as ever, too.

"Why Qrow, what attack on Atlas? I'll have you know that I'm a borderline _asset_ to Atlas; certainly an ally, at least." She said, reveling in my confusion at what appeared to be a contradictory statement.

"Really? I've got a dead general and a crippled command ship that beg to differ. What would you call that?"

" _That_ sounds like one hell of a distraction to me. Say, did any military supplies happen to go missing?" She tilted her head to the side and gave me a look. Her grin was still there. _She's really enjoying this, and she's never given me this much free information about_ anything _before._ I had to think about her words, leaving me silent for a few moments; Raven didn't mind, relishing in watching me play catch-up.

There were three main areas attacked or sabotaged—or four, if you count the armory and engine rooms separately, although they were both bombed. This info somewhat fits now that I know that Jaune had help from both Mercury Black and his short undercover friend, presumably the same short girl in the background of the call earlier that Atlas ID'ed as Neo Politan, Torchwick's assassin. Jaune attacked the bridge with several disorienting grenades. _Several may be underselling it, too; there were almost as many grenade canisters found in there than there would have been people._ Mercury we have footage of near the engine rooms, and he is suspected of being the trying to bring the ship down. _That leaves the short girl, who we know stole hard drives, but with the credentials she had, that wouldn't have taken very long._ She could have very easily taken those hard drives before or after setting bombs in the armory.

 _The armory!_

"You were working with the Politan girl to make the armory look like it was sabotaged, weren't you?"

"I've worked with many people to do many things, Qrow, but yes, that did happen. It's not every day I can get my hands on Atlas-military grade hardware for the Tribe." Although still smug, she also now looked pleased, as if she was glad she could finally gloat about her plans to someone.

"That had to have taken a hell of a lot of dust to transport all of that through your portals." I pointed out, hoping to keep her talking.

"It did, but Neo threw the dust in as part of the deal. Torchwick had loads of the stuff sitting around after Cinder brought Beacon to its knees. They never even used the stuff, just wanted to keep it scarce."

"That sounds expensive. What did she want in return?"

"Oh, you know how it goes. Exchange of favors." She said with her go-to shrug. "Neo helps me, Jaune helps Neo…"

"…And you help Jaune." I finished, not needing her to finish her taunt.

"Now you've got it." She pretended to look at a watch on her wrist. "Oh, would you look at the time; I've actually got to rush off to help the boy now. He's expecting quite the fight." Raven drew her sword and cut open a portal. "If you're so eager to find out what's really going on, why don't you help? You might be surprised what you find."

I made no motion to move forwards, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it. This _could_ be a trap—I wouldn't put it past Raven to sell me out if the price was right—but in the long run our goals line up often enough that she wouldn't do that. I was too valuable of an ally to squander like that; she also enjoyed tricking me into solving her problems. If she _was_ going to assist Jaune in a fight—if that is all that Neo accepted as her payment for a sizable heist—then it was likely going to be one hell of a fight. Raven might be asking for help—not something she would ever admit, and would gut me for even thinking—and if she was desperate enough to ask for my help, then she _really_ needed it. Having both Branwens fighting on the same side? That was enough to tip the scales of any fight. _And it would get me to the bottom of things quickly._

In the end, I still found myself standing here instead of walking forward to the portal. Raven smiled at my clear uncertainty.

"No? Oh well. It's sure to be one fun fight. _I hear Ruby will be there, too._ "

My fists clenched and I let out a long sigh as I began walking to the portal.

" _Fuck you, sis._ "

Raven just laughed as we walked through the portal.

* * *

Present

(Jaune's POV)

"Alright, briefing is over. We land in approximately 10. Jaune, you have anything you want to say to your _brave_ soldiers?" Neo finished in a mock as she rolled her eyes at me. Her mistake, as given the chance to say something goofy, I always take it.

"You heard the toddler! For those of you who care for such things, we're about to strike a blow against some real assholes who are up to no good." There were a flew grumblings and a general flat look from the few people gathered around, although the braver of them chuckled at how I addressed their boss. "For those of you care for such things, the first round is on Neo after the fight!" Now they showed some excitement, despite the cutting glare Neo shot me. "For those of you who care for such things, if you live then you'll get your check!" Now there was a _real_ applause, and I smiled despite myself.

"Oi, you keep saying 'for those of you.' What do _you_ care about this fight for then?" One of the men called back, turning my joke back around on me to the delight of those in the audience who _hadn't_ appreciated that a 17-year-old punk was giving orders.

"For me? Well, I'm about to go get my girl back…" I answered back, hoping that a _very_ simplified answer would go over better than any real explanations. This was absolutely _not_ the crowd of people that I wanted to explain myself to, although I'm sure that I caught Neo take delight in seeing the role reversed as well.

"Aww, well _shit_ , I'd fight for that too!" Someone called back, earning cheers and laughs all around again. _These gangster types are really easy to manage; I just hope they're as competent as Neo says they are._ They were all hand-picked, so I'm told, but Torchwick's old men were usually just fodder, so you'll understand my hesitance to use them in a move against _Salem's_ men. Thugs, as I had distinguished them, were easily hired and easily handled muscle. Neo had assured me that these men were professionals and had combat training, whether it be military or Huntsman. She also made it clear she did not appreciate my questioning her selection skills, and I guess she's right. As far as I know, Neo is the premier fighter/assassin/professional in the underworld, so it _would_ make sense that she had connections.

Everyone began to sit down and strap themselves in for the landing. Despite the ship being (more a less) Atlas' version of a bullhead, it had been retrofitted for troop transport and had seats along the walls that you could strap into, should you need to for any reason, like taking heavy fire. I went back over to my previous seat, between Ruby and Neo, the latter of which had gone to 'talk' to the pilots.

"Wow. _Jaune Arc, mob boss._ Can't say I ever saw that coming." Ruby teased, or maybe she taunted? I can't tell. She's been hard to read since…well, since I shot her, so I guess that's fair.

" _Me?_ You must be talking about a better Jaune Arc. I couldn't steal candy from a baby if I had a gun." I joked back, trying to deflect any seriousness she may have been meaning.

"No, but you sure seem able to shoot your friends with one." She responded quietly, but not shying away from eye contact as she said it, which just served to make me feel even guiltier. That was Ruby's specialty—that, and puppy-dog eyes. "You're also pretty good at kidnapping me, too."

"Hey now, this second time doesn't count! You're just _pretending_ to be my prisoner." I answered, immensely grateful for the opportunity for deflection that Ruby's second comment had given me.

Ruby took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as if she were fighting nerves; all things considered, I wouldn't be able to blame her if she was, seeing how much younger she is and the fact that I would be shaking in my boots if I were her.

"J-Jaune, I need to ask you something, and I need you to be _really_ honest with me." Ruby asked in a lowered voice, her eyes having lost their edge from her earlier jabs and having taken on an apprehensive, almost scared look. I nodded to agree and reassure her, while also not trying to draw any attention to us by verbally answering. "What we're about to do…will it work?"

"What do you mean 'will it work'?" I answered carefully, wanting to know exactly what she wanted me to say before I said it anyways.

"You know what I mean. What do we consider a 'good' outcome, and how likely is it that we make it happen?" Ruby answered, surprisingly articulate.

"A good outcome? I'd say that, at least, you survive and we get Pyrrha back safely. I'd bet my life on that happening." I answered, with only a minor joke at the end to lighten the mood. That is, if she thought I was joking. I'm not so sure, myself.

"I didn't hear you mention _yourself_ surviving, Jaune." Ruby asked, visibly concerned.

" _I'd bet my life on that happening_." I repeated, not breaking away from Ruby's now nervous gaze. "The three most important people to me right now are you and Pyrrha, and then me. I guess I'll count Neo a distant fourth, just for today. Once the first two are safe, then I'll do everything I can to help myself." _Ain't that the truth, too._

"You're not allowed to die yet, Jaune. I haven't gotten a chance to be mad at you." Ruby stated simply, some of the fire now returning to her silver eyes as she challenged me with them. Staring into them reminded me of another back-up plan of mine, on the off-chance that Cinder shows up. Should that happen, I'll need to see more than just a little fire in Ruby's eyes. If they stopped Cinder once, then I can't think of a better plan for her.

"Deal. Just don't tell Yang or Qrow that you get first shot at me. They won't like you taking their spot." I answered back with a small laugh while trying to put the horrifying thought of having all three of them gang up on me out of my mind. "Wait, so even after agreeing to help with all this, you're still angry with me?"

"I…don't know. Part of me is. Part of me can see _why_ you did everything, but I don't know if I believe that makes it okay. I just…haven't had time to think about it. But I'm pretty sure I won't get over it. Not _completely_ , anyways."

I didn't know how to respond, or if I should even respond at all, so I let the words hang in the air. While my stomach dropped at the possibility of her never forgiving me—or even moving on from it, there was a part of me that expected it. It was the same part that had convinced me that what I was doing was worth any cost I could pay. In short, it would hurt, but it certainly wouldn't make me regret what I've done, especially once we get Pyrrha back.

" _Everyone strap in. We're coming in for landing._ " Shortly after the announcement, Neo strode back in and took her seat on my other side. We shared a look briefly, before I closed my eyes and leaned back against the hull of the ship.

 _It's time._ _Just don't screw this up, Jaune._

* * *

Present

(Neo's POV)

" _Neo, I think that I just might have our solution." Roman called out to me as I returned from another night of recon. He was standing over a large blueprint that was laid out on a table in front of him, his eyes never leaving the paper before him._

 _I walked up and stood across the table from him and made a small noise to prompt him to continue as I began to look over what he was looking at. It was a blueprint for Atlas' command ship; it didn't take a genius to figure out how he got it, too._

" _Well, our_ hotheaded _friend stopped by to give us our marching orders earlier, and yes, I know that they end in us marching into a hail of bullets at some point. Or maybe it will be Grimm; she seems like the type to appreciate irony." He trailed off, enjoying the sound of his own voice. I rolled my eyes and waited for him to continue. "Would you like to hear the plan?"_

Oh, how right he was. Curse that stupid bitch for being just one step ahead. We almost got away from this war, and yet here I am over half a year later, still stuck in the middle of it, but all alone now.

I took my leave from the cockpit as the pilot told everyone on board to take a seat. One more battle and I'm free, or at least, I should be. I promised that I would never fall a step behind again, and I've worked endlessly to stay ahead. That's why I've taken on Jaune and struck a deal with Raven, after all. The hardest part of staying a step ahead is not letting anyone notice.

" _Evil McCrabby, Queen of all Bitches, wants to bring down Beacon and possibly Vale with it, and she's not pulling punches._ We _are going to Mountain Glenn to excavate tunnels—well, the Fang will do the work and I'll yell at them—so we can spring Grimm on them at the start of the Vytal Festival." I raised my eyebrows at him, and he understood my question. "She just wants fear fresh on everyone's mind, so that her_ actual _moves attract even more Grimm. However, she made just one crucial mistake, Neo: she's included us in her plans too much!"_

We really thought that she overestimated our loyalty to—or fear of—her. In the end, she gave us just enough rope for us to hang ourselves. We were loose ends and we knew it, and we got too desperate to see the trap before us.

" _You see, after Mountain Glenn I'm supposed to get arrested and General Ironwood is going to salivate over the chance to…ahem,_ interrogate me within the full confines of humane treatment _, if you get my meaning. That means he'll keep me close by on his command ship, and when shit goes down during the Festival, you spring me out and we take over the whole ship! From there, we take out Atlas' air support, and once that happens there's nothing_ anyone _can do to stop us from just leaving!"_

I looked to my side and took in the sight before me: several of the best fighters that I could find who were willing to go against Cinder and her allies—and some that were either from Vale or had family there and wanted all the more to get some payback. _Motivated fighters, the lot of them._ None so much as Jaune, though, which was good because his role here is going to be the hardest. Whenever he drops the codeword, it's going down, so he'll be in the middle of it responsible for protecting Ruby _and_ the Nikos girl.

" _Well, Neo, I have to say, I've never shot down such a large ship, but it is_ addictively _fun! It almost makes up for the extra weeks spent in Atlas custody_ without my hat! _" Roman joked aloud, although it was plainly obvious that he really was enjoying himself. I couldn't help but fight a smile myself; we were_ doing _it. We had the airship and the sky had been cleared; now it was time to disappear. "Ugh, it appears there's something that's landed on the hull. Neo, would you make sure it isn't a Huntsman trying to bring us down with him or some nonsense?"_

Well, it wasn't a _Huntsman_ , per say. I guess Ruby wasn't even fully a Huntress then, either, and she really wasn't much of a threat, either. Sure, she was more than capable of handling any number of Grimm with that scythe, but it just was not a weapon designed for dueling in the slightest. However, in a much larger battlefield, it packed a punch and kept her moving too fast to be hit, so our upcoming skirmish would be a great place to deploy it. _Or it would, if she hadn't been_ shot.

 _That little bitch! Who does she think she is, deploying my umbrella like that? Does she_ know _how hard it's gonna be for Roman to snatch me out of the sky with a freaking battleship flying around? Ugh, she's going to regret that. Roman usually likes to toy around with her, but we don't have any time for that! He just needs to get it over with and pick me up before it's too late to escape this nightmare._

 _Say, how long have the skies been filled with this many nevermores? This feels like a new development, but I also feel like I should have seen a few before now. Shouldn't they all be attacking the city instead of…the…ship?_

There's no telling whether Salem intends to keep her word or not, and if she _is_ planning on the double cross, then we're walking into a trap. Traps are great at killing mice, but if you get anything stronger than that, the trap fails. I just hope I've brought along enough extra strength. I have more than one surprise up my sleeve here, but we're talking about a showdown with the Queen of the Grimm, not just Queen of all Bitches. _Though if she does show up, we may be screwed._

 _My heart sank as I watched the nevermores swarm the Atlas ship I had been unceremoniously ejected from, but it dropped out of me entirely when explosions started erupting all over the ship. The explosions appeared to have been coming from_ inside _the ship, and the nevermore swarm wouldn't let much of anything escape._

 _There's no way that either of them could have survived that._

 _Did she plan it that way? Did she know that we we're going to escape, and Red would try to stop us? Surely not, but…but she had to have, didn't she?_

She always planned for everything imaginable. There wasn't a move you could make that she wouldn't see coming, and with her at Salem's side, it would be all the more difficult to fool Salem.

I cast another glance to Jaune, who was leaned back with his eyes closed, looking as if he was trying to _force_ himself to relax and enjoy these last few seconds of peace as we landed. _If there isn't a move_ I _can make that she won't foresee, then I need to get_ others _to make the moves for me._ That's why I reached out to Jaune, and Raven, and each of the fighters here individually. This is something that can only be done with help, as hard as that is to admit.

The ship landed, and I took one more glance around at everyone. I'm putting my trust—and my _fate_ —in the hands of a 15-year-old hostage, a 17-year-old kid, a handful of unsavory characters, a half-robotic sniper, and a Branwen. Everything in me says that this is a bad hand to bet my life on.

Yet somehow, I can't help but like these odds. I just need a little luck.


	16. What Could Go Wrong?

**Author's Note: Shockingly (sarcasm alert), I am too lazy to actually beta-read my own stories a lot of the time. Often, I write it, spell check it, and upload it directly. Sometimes, and we are talking 10% of the time, I will read over the story and fix any grammatical mistakes that slipped through spell check. This note is to say that I did that for this chapter, so I deserve a pat on the back. :P**

* * *

Present

(Jaune's POV)

Neo and I walked out of the back of the ship and turned to start walking into the middle of the clearing that we were in. We were about a 15-minute flight from the edges of the city, so we were well out of range of any prying eyes. The clearing was just that, a grassy area between all of the trees and set between the hills, not uncommon for the area. All around us were high vantage points, whether it be trees or hills, that would serve as excellent snipers' nests. It felt like walking into a trap—which, to be fair, is what we expected to happen anyways.

Standing in the middle of the clearing was Dr. Watts, who appeared to have already been here for some time; certainly long enough to have established any forces he brought with him. Standing next to Watts as we approached was an absolute bear of a man that I didn't recognize, but his presence and his angry demeanor intimidated me very plainly. He didn't even have a weapon on him, but judging from the width of his shoulders and the massive amount of muscle he had, I doubt he even needs one.

"Ah, Jaune Arc arrives, along with… _Neo Politian_? I must say, your persistent association with Mr. Arc is quite peculiar." Dr. Watts called out as we approached. At my side, I just barely noticed Neo stiffen at Dr. Watts' comment, and it wasn't hard to figure out why: _Do they already know about her allegiances? If so, they know that we're prepared to fight._ "Yea, well, I can't fly, so I hired Neo to fly me out here." I answered, taking care not to seem _too_ eager to clear things up. I need them relaxed, so I need to appear relaxed. _Or at least, as relaxed as I would normally appear during a hostage exchange…which likely isn't very relaxed._ If I could put the psycho stabbing-lady at my side at ease while I did it, that was a plus.

"Ah, well, I suppose that we cannot all have taken flying lessons, can we? My colleague here happens to have flown me here. I myself have taken a few lessons—just enough for emergencies and such—but I never stuck with it. Too busy with other things, I'm afraid." His colleague grunted in acknowledgement, but other than that stood silent. "I do feel curious enough to ask you, Mr. Arc, what payment you offered her for her assistance?"

"She had a…a score to settle with Ruby Rose. She agreed to help in exchange for… _speaking_ with her, in a way." I answered truthfully enough, though I did fumble my words when trying to explain how Neo, who refused to talk, spoke with Ruby. Details like that weren't important and wouldn't sink me, but if I fumbled them away so easily, it would alert them that I had other reasons to be nervous.

I waited uncomfortably for Dr. Watts' answer as he appeared to mull over my every word. His eyes never left me, meaning that I couldn't ever break away from the eye contact. _It feels as if he's observing me far more carefully than someone who_ knows _I'm about to betray them would. Maybe this is a good thing_? Or maybe he's just coming up with the best one-liner to nail me with as he springs his trap.

"Well, Mr. Arc, it would appear that your resilience has proven itself once again. What did I tell you, Hazel? Isn't this just... _interesting_?" He asked, turning to his partner again, who again just grunted. "Ah, excuse him. He's not very talkative. In truth, Salem ordered that Hazel here would handle this business with you alone, but I just could _not_ resist the chance to meet you myself. I'm sure that you won't tell on me to Salem, now, will you?"

"N-no." I answered, caught off-guard. He already knew what my answer would be. Running off to Salem to tell her how one of her own minions disobeyed her and got a front row seat to my own betrayal would be suicide, not to mention just plain asinine.

"Good. I would imagine that after this whole business, you would want nothing to do with Salem at all, so I reason that we are safe to speak freely here."

"What about me is so interesting?" I asked, genuine curiosity overcoming my nervousness. I really don't want to drag any of this out, but I just couldn't help myself. Everyone always seems to see something different in me; Pyrrha, Weiss, Salem, maybe Ozpin (because, honestly, those faked transcripts were terrible). Now I have this man standing here, practically studying my every move, because he too finds me interesting? At first, part of me wanted to get on with the fighting, but now I was intrigued as well.

"I'll admit, from the surface, you seem very boring. A plain boy who wants to grow up to be a Huntsman and save the day, swinging a plain old sword and shield. Seen it a million times before, and it didn't help that you weren't particularly good at anything, either. Especially the Huntsman part."

"Gee, stop it. You're making me blush."

" _But_ …despite this, Salem herself was supremely intrigued by you, to the point where she agreed to do business with you just to examine you further. And none of us understood why, some of us even making the mistake of questioning her judgement aloud." He cut his eyes towards his companion, who for the first time did something _other_ than grunt as he cut his eyes back at him angrily. "So I asked myself, 'Watts, clearly you are missing something here, but what?' So I started looking into you, Jaune, and let me tell you that you are much more interesting underneath that bland exterior."

Now I felt uncomfortable as all eyes shifted to me, including Neo's. My left hand idly fell down to grip the pommel of the new sword I had accrued for this occasion, seeking the stability of something to hold on to. Three people who, in all honestly, could kill me should the mood strike them was not something I relished, even if one of them was a very close ally of mine by this point. I would borderline call Neo a friend if I had ever actually spoken with her about anything other than our plans.

"The most obvious thing was that you went out of your way to contact us, which was quite interesting, especially since it meant that you not only already knew of the Maidens, but also that resurrection was possible. That kind of knowledge is rare in its own right, and certainly interesting."

"Yeah, well, I happened to know someone who's security clearance let me into a secret library without their knowledge…" I mused aloud, not realizing that I was now justifying my actions to these people. Or that to anyone normal, my answer sounded a little crazy.

"You _happened_ to know someone who _unwittingly_ let you read ancient texts? That is quite fortuitous, don't you think?" He asked with a smug grin, before continuing onto his rant. "Then I realized that you had to fight your way through both Neo here and Mercury Black, simultaneously, and you somehow won that fight."

"Well, I didn't completely win it. I just did good enough to not die." I answered back.

"Either way, you survived the attacks of a very accomplished assassin and the prodigy of an even more accomplished assassin. That does not speak of mediocrity."

Unsure of how to respond, I just shrugged. It always worked for Yang, so why not?

"Digging deeper into what I could find, I learned that you have been secretly interesting for a while now. You managed to sneak into Beacon Academy without any formal training or even an unlocked aura—equal parts hysterical and interesting—but despite that you never flunked out, which is what I would have suspected.

"And, of course, the most obvious reason that I had originally missed, is that you are a living, breathing Arc. Now, isn't _that_ just interesting?" Dr. Watts mused aloud.

"Yes." Hazel finally grunted an answer aloud, much to my surprise. "It is."

"Ah, I suspected that you didn't know the significance of that, and your confusion confirms it. I'll tell you what, if we meet again after this, I'll tell you how Salem ordered the Arc line to be extinguished, and more interestingly, _why_."

I didn't answer immediately, and I'm sure he picked up on the confusion I displayed, although he never addressed it. He figured that I would be surprised by such an offer and the implications thereof, but I was more thrown off by something else: he expected us to be able to meet again in the future. _He doesn't expect to kill me, for certain, and it seems like he doesn't even intend to double-cross me here. Does this mean he doesn't suspect that_ I _am going to double-cross him? Could this really just be a simple prisoner exchange, and like that they would hand me Pyrrha?_ That seems stupidly easy, like it shouldn't ever happen. No one just gets so lucky as to have their enemy honor their agreement, right?

"Well, with that taken care of, I believe that we have something to do…" I responded after a few moments to collect myself. Dr. Watts didn't seem to mind, as he was still—studying! That's the word I was looking for; it looks like he's studying me—studying me carefully.

"Ah, right you are. Hazel, go fetch Miss Nikos." Dr. Watts looked at me expectantly, and I turned to Neo and nodded at her. Both Hazel and Neo turned around and began walking to opposite ends of the clearing, where I presume both of us had our prisoners hidden. _If nothing else, it confirms that he has more men here guarding her. And it also means he knows I have the same._

"Now that they're gone, I had one point I've been building up to. Mr. Arc, you don't know your semblance, do you?" He asked with a small grin beginning to form.

"I…no. I've never been able to trigger it." I answered honestly.

"And you are aware of the possibility of a more passive semblance, yes?" He asked leadingly. My thoughts went back to Qrow, whose semblance certainly is passive, or Nora, whose semblance I guess is _technically_ passive—she doesn't _do_ anything, per say, but passively converts electricity to energy. _Well, as_ 'passively' _as Nora can do anything._ I nodded to Watts to indicate I was familiar with the concept. "Then I believe I have a theory to put forth, if you'll hear it. You'll have to forgive my eagerness; that's the academic in me coming out. I'm told that you have almost a personal mantra, or an in-joke with yourself that some of our people have overheard you mumbling. Do you know what I'm referring to?"

I went stiff for a split second as I realized what he was asking. By itself, it was a harmless question, and one that I wouldn't have minded saying aloud. However, the circumstances here were much different than would allow for that, so I decided to play dumb.

"Uh… a mantra? No, I'm not really into that sort of stuff. I've got a teammate who is, though."

"Well, think of it more as a one-liner from a cheesy action movie. Is that more suited to you?"

I nodded absently, him having nailed me to a T. Cheesy action movie is the highest form of cinema I can bear to watch, after all.

"It's something to do with _luck_ , isn't it?" He asked leadingly, and I saw my opportunity to avoid saying that word outright. _Who would have thought that the code word I picked would come up in normal conversation? Or, well, as close to normal as I can consider this._

"I make my own." I answered, much to his delight.

"Ah yes, _that's_ it. 'I make my own luck.' How did you come to adopt that phrase?"

I stared off at the grass in thought for a moment, having never really pondered it before. "I guess I was just…tired of fate, and destiny, and all these things forcing everyone's hands, especially...well, especially Pyrrha's. That line reminds me of what I defy with each step I take. Fate, or Destiny...it can go to hell. If I need cosmic permission to sanction my actions, I'll make my own."

"Well put, Mr. Arc. I myself never found the belief in predestination very compelling, as it liberates us from our free will and right to choose, and therefore makes life meaningless. I would much rather be able to take credit for my own achievements than chalk them up to Fate.

"Given everything I have learned about you, I do think it's possible that I've discovered your semblance: I believe that you really do make your own luck, so to speak."

I stood there staring at him for a few moments, trying to figure out how he came to that conclusion. _Is he saying that I'm just Qrow's opposite?_

"I don't get it. You think my semblance is to be…" I trailed off as I almost said the _one_ word I needed to avoid. "…to have good fortune?" I corrected myself clumsily.

"I certainly think it's possible. Everything about you—from your admission to Beacon to your deal with my employer to the fact that you even were allowed to be born—screams of being lucky, and one can only believe in coincidences for so long. Perhaps the reason your mantra stuck with you is because part of you resonated with it. Think on it, Mr. Arc." He cut himself off short as Hazel returned behind him, and not long after I heard footsteps approaching from behind me.

Standing between the two men was a tall girl in civilian clothes— _which I guess makes sense; I don't know if you can resurrect armor, plus it would have a hole in it—_ with a cloth over her head and a rope loosely tied around her wrists, as if they weren't even concerned with her trying to escape. They probably wouldn't be, seeing as she would at least know of how many men they had waiting and she _was_ to be released soon anyways.

On our side between Neo and myself was a much shorter person with a cloth over her head, although Ruby had handcuffs that connected to ankle cuffs on; all in all, the chains were some fancy Atlas tech we had stolen that were designed for dangerous prisoners, such as Huntresses. _Well, I'm sure they weren't designed to be used on the good guys._ Her walking was impeded by the chains, which was way it took longer for Neo and Ruby to return than Hazel and—I'm hoping—Pyrrha.

"So, how do you wanna verify them?" Dr. Watts asked.

"Well, Ruby is pretty easy. All you need to see are her eyes. Pyrrha…I have some questions for her that should help."

"Well, by all means, go ahead."

I walked forward until I was standing only a few feet from Pyrrha, staring at her cloth hood. I took a few moments to remember the questions I had come up with earlier.

"What color are my eyes?" I asked.

A small chuckle came from under the hood, followed quickly by a reply. "Blue."

 _Correct._

" _That's_ your first question?" Hazel asked—or well, really, he more grunted the words.

"With how much she used to stare into them, I'd be concerned if she didn't know. Anyways, next question: what is your favorite _cereal_?" This one was designed to be a trickier question to fake. _If_ this person was not the real Pyrrha and was being fed information by someone, then they could have just zoomed a camera in on me to see my eye color and used the giggle to by time to radio the answer. But now, they'd have to figure out a question that there very much is a right answer to.

"…oatmeal…" The voice answered after a soft—almost ashamed—sigh.

 _Correct._

" _Oatmeal?!_ " Ruby piped up from underneath her hood, earning an elbow to the gut from Neo—right into her wound. Ruby's subsequent wince in pain did not take away the validity of her question.

"Oatmeal doesn't count as cereal!" Dr. Watts agreed, though slightly bemused to see that I accepted it as the correct answer.

"It does if you add some milk." The voice— _her_ voice—defended softly.

"Really, I would have expected it to be Pumpkin Pete's. Why didn't you pick that one?" I asked, testing her. She refused to answer immediately, but after I poked her in the ribs she gave in.

"It's so sugary it makes me sick." She answered sheepishly, clearly aware of how bad of a spokeswoman she was. I'm pretty sure I heard Ruby snigger, and even Neo cracked a small grin. Dr. Watts rolled his eyes, and Hazel was not amused, but then again, I don't think he's ever smiled in his life. _Or maybe he smiles as he rips people apart with his bare hands; he certainly looks the type._

"So far, she's gotten them all correct. I have just one final question: who is the sexiest member of Team JNPR?"

The question hung in the air, whether by the levity or the stupidity of it I'm not sure. If ever there was a trick question, it was this one. Would the real Pyrrha go with who _she_ thought was the sexiest? Because that would likely be me. But she _could_ say herself, because let's be honest, those legs tho. Really, an argument for all four members could be made. This was clearly a question only the real Pyrrha would get correct, and more importantly, it was one that no one outside of our team would know. We had never outright discussed it among our team, but it was one of those fundamental, unspoken pillars of Team JNPR.

"Easy. _Ren_."

" _REN?_ " Came Ruby from underneath her hood again. For a prisoner, she sure seems talkative.

"Yup. She's real alright." There's never been any need for us to kid anyone: everyone is Rensexual. It's just how life goes. Nothing competes.

I pulled the sack off of Pyrrha's head, and was greeted with the sight of giant, bright green eyes staring at me uncertainly. For a moment, everything stopped for me and a weight that had pressed down on my shoulders began to release. _It's really her. She's almost safe._ I know I had talked to her once through video chat, but this was different. This was _real_. She is _here_. I could reach out and touch her. I already had once.

Now, there's just one thing left to do.

"Now, there's just one thing left to do." Watts echoed my thoughts as he walked over to Ruby, who was also in civvies. Upon pulling off her cloth and inspecting her eyes, he nodded and called Hazel over to double check. Whatever they saw, they liked it, as they both nodded and quietly whispered their agreement.

"I believe you had something else for me, Mr. Arc." Watts asked as Hazel escorted Ruby to their side and Pyrrha followed me back to Neo.

" _Ah._ Sorry about that. Neo, give the man the hard drives." The aforementioned girl revealed her hands, which had previously been held behind her back the whole time, which held the two hard drives stolen from the Atlas ship. She tossed them over to Watts, who took a passing glance just to ensure that they were actual Atlas hardware. _Way out here in the forest, there isn't much else he can do to check them._ _Despite that, he really doesn't seem all that concerned with whether they are real or not._ I would imagine that if we didn't have one Ruby Rose to trade, this meeting would have gone down much different.

"Well, I would say today has been productive on all fronts. It's been a pleasure doing business, Mr. Arc, and I'm glad that we could complete this without any needless tension. Prisoner exchanges are rarely this smooth, after all, but I'm impressed by your professionalism. It certainly is..." _Don't say it. Don't say it. Don't say it._ "...interesting." _Dammit, he said it._

"Eh, I guess I wouldn't know, but all the same it did go well." _Come on, turn your backs. I just need the perfect spot._

"Do remember my offer, and good luck with that semblance!" Watts called out as he turned to begin walking away. _That's my queue_.

"I thought I told you, I make my own **luck**."

The next moment, a sniper's round pinged off of Watts' left shoulder, denting his aura as other suppressing fire lit up the woods at the sound of the kill code. _Of course we would have a whole conversation about luck, the one word I could_ not _say until I was ready for a bullet storm._ A random bullet whizzed by my head as Watts' men had no doubt started returning fire. _Alright, focus Jaune._

The moment I said 'luck,' Ruby's chains unlocked themselves— _thank you Roman, for your peculiar heists and their loot—_ and she took off as fast as she dared towards the bullhead, dragging Pyrrha in tow. It wouldn't do to have two unprepared girls fighting in their civvies, especially when we were expecting knock-down, drag-out fight. Oh, and Ruby still has a bullet wound that I gave her, so that would go poorly.

I planted myself behind the shield I borrowed from Neo's armory earlier and looked up to make sure the girls got away safely. Neo had successfully covered their tracks with her mirrors, so by the time Watts or Hazel would have found them, they would have made it far enough for our gunfire to cover them accurately. That also had the added bonus of shielding them from targeted gunfire, though with Salem's particular orders about Ruby being captured alive, I would doubt they would take the risk to shoot at her.

I peeked through the slit in my shield to see Watts retreating and Hazel engaging the first wave of men to charge up. Upon seeing our forces advance, our enemies sent matching numbers to keep Hazel from being overwhelmed, although based on how fast he's tearing through them, I wouldn't say that's much of an issue. The only reason our guys are putting up a fight are the _massive_ sniper rounds that have kept Hazel pinned. _Ruby is going to have a field day, sitting back there next to an actual sniper using a_ big fucking sniper rifle. Atlas tech if I ever saw it, as upon impact it shattered in a dust explosion. Explosive rounds as big as tank shells fired from a sniper; I bet his shoulder has _got_ to be sore. _Wait, our sniper doesn't technically have a shoulder. Perks of a robot body, I guess._

 _FOCUS!_ A bullet whizzed right by me, and by the time I looked back up I was being charged by a man with a massive sword. His outfit spoke of being a low-level thug or hired assassin, but he was charging into gunfight so he clearly had his aura unlocked, and he had a _massive_ sword with a horizontal spike at the end designed to crush through any blocks, meaning my heavy shield would be a hindrance.

Have I mentioned that this sword was huge yet?

As he charged he swung his sword parallel to the ground, meaning my only options were to go under or over it, and since he swung it as waist level, I was _not_ making it over it. I made the choice to leap forward, shield first, and collide with him mid-stride while he was still winding up his swing. This resulted in a massive collision that knocked both of us to the ground and rattled my head. The jarring force backwards combined with the momentum his sword already had built up sent his weapon flying out of his hands, whereas I was somehow able to hold onto mine.

Unable to think after such a hit, my instincts kicked in and I found myself scurrying along the ground to where he had fallen, still dazed. I jumped on top of him and pinned him to the ground as I began beating the side of his head with my sword hilt. He was still too loopy from being knocked down so suddenly, and never fought back. I never cracked his aura, but I _did_ knock him out, so all's well that ends well.

Hopefully, that didn't knock too much of my aura out.

I surveyed the battlefield—literally a field filled with battle, I mused— _wait, this is no time for distractions—_ I surveyed the battlefield and found that anyone near Hazel had been disarmed and, in many cases, had their rectums acquainted with their own weapons. _If that keeps up, there's no amount of sniper fire that's going to save us._

As if on cue, a red portal opened up a few feet away. Although she was later than I would have liked, having Raven here to reinforce us was about the best thing I could think of happening for our chances. But it wasn't Raven that caught my eye; no, it was the man who came out of the portal just behind her, who _instantly_ locked eyes on me. Within a matter of seconds, Qrow Branwen had bounded over to stand behind me, using both myself and my shield to block any oncoming fire as he held his sword out towards me.

" _Where's Ruby!_ " He semi-shouted, though it sounded more like an angry grunt than a shout. _There's been a lot of grunting around here recently…_

"Do you think I'd let her participate in getting— **OW!** " I yelped as a round bounced off of my foot, not really doing any damage but startling me nonetheless. "…in getting shot at? She's safe, Qrow. I'd bet my life on it."

Qrow's eyes hardened on me, and I held his gaze for as long as I could before the pressing issue of gunfire bouncing off my shield took my attention away.

"You _are_." Qrow stated simply, before swiveling his head to survey the battlefield; he took his sweet time, too, content to let me just stand here and cover him. " _Shit_. Raven, is that who I think it is?" Qrow's eyes locked onto where Hazel was terrorizing anyone unlucky enough to be the closest fighter to him, and Raven followed his gaze.

Raven mumbled something under her breath before turning to me. "I thought you said this was going to be boring, not that we would run into Salem's chief…terrorizer." She drew her long Nodachi blade and gave it a few test swings, before turning back to Qrow. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think we should do this one together."

A grin spread across Qrow's face, and in return the blood drained form Raven's. It very much reminded me of Nora and Ren.

"You know what that means, sis?"

"Please don't. I'd hate to have to kill you then take him on alone."

"We're going to fight together, so you have to use our combo callout!"

"I will eviscerate you blindfolded with a spork, Qrow."

"Oh, come on, I _know_ you remember it."

With a long sigh, Raven bowed her head in defeat. "Go ahead, say it."

"Wonder Twin Power…!" Qrow called out louder than necessary, reveling in his victory over his sister. He waited patiently for Raven to finish the callout.

"… _activate_ …" Raven finally replied through gritted teeth and with a glare sharper than her sword. And like that, they both morphed into birds and flew off towards their target. Something told me it was safest _not_ to watch that fight, either for fear of getting sucked into it or the bullets still pouring at me from the far side of the woods. Or perhaps it would just be too epic for mortal eyes. I'm not taking chances.

"God I hope our team moves don't sound _that_ stupid." I mumbled to myself.

" _You named one of them 'Flower Power.'"_ Ruby's voice buzzed over the comm I had in my ear. It was a very slender model, left over from none other than Roman Torchwich. Being Neo's friend gave you really good access to stolen or outlawed military-grade gadgetry, apparently.

"Don't make me shoot you again." I called back into my comm to the bite-size sniper, who thought herself quite funny. The moment I said it, however, I regretted it, but didn't have time to dwell on it or even apologize. "Raven and Qrow are taking Hazel. What's our status elsewhere?" This time, I asked into the same open comm channel that I had given the kill code in.

" _Neo went off to sabotage their ship. I'm leading the push against their northern front and we have them pinned."_ The voice of the ex-Atlas sniper I had on overwatch responded. If he was leading the push, then that means that Ruby made it all the way to safety and took his place as our resident sniper. _That means they're both safe, for certain._

"Listen to you, all prim and proper. You can take the man outta Atlas, but not the intense and rigid social structure of the Atlas military out of the man, huh?" I asked back, my feet having already taken off to my next target. "I'll see what I can do about flanking from the south, and maybe find Neo while I'm at it."

With the push from the north, there was no one left to fire at me from across the field, so I found making my way to the edge of the trees easy. From there, it was a simple matter of dipping a little further down below where the majority of the gunfire was coming from and then approaching from behind.

As I approached, I noticed that for the most part our advance was successful, as all of the enemies I could see were huddled behind trees or trying to dig in and hold a position. Our front was maybe only fifty yards from another clearing where a ship slightly larger than our own was parked. It had been just far enough out of the way that we wouldn't have seen it flying over, and doubtless they would have camouflaged it open landing. _From the sounds of it, I'm not needed on the front; I should go make sure they can't fly off._

If I'm lucky, I'll run into Neo, since that was her original goal. _I make my own_ —I stopped my line of thought as Dr. Watts words from earlier came back to mind. _Do I make my own luck?_ It seems like something impossible to test, but how many times can I get lucky? _Do I have time to dwell on this right now?_ Now that question I could answer, and I did by moving my feet and approaching the edge of the clearing.

There were a few crates just outside of the back entrance to the ship, and a handful of men were frantically loading them onto the ship. _Munitions or ammo, most likely, but irrelevant as it is big enough to give me cover_. I crouched down and quickly scuttled across the field, taking care to try to remain behind one of the crates without getting spotted.

I made it all the way to the nearest crate, which had two men standing on the other side of it. They must have been in charge of comms, as the noises from two radios could be heard easily.

" _Why the_ fuck _is there so much glass breaking in the middle of a forest?!"_

" _Oh god! Billy what the hell happened to yo—GAH!"_

" _Sh-sh-show yourself!...Oh god, n-not like that! Not like that!"_

Well, Neo must be enjoying herself.

I hoisted myself up and over the crate and directed myself to land with my full weight behind my shield directly into the back of the man on the left. Once we hit the ground, I used my forward momentum from the leap to roll into a crouch position, and drew my sword as I stood up. My sword went straight from my holster to the back of the other man's knee, and while his aura didn't break, the force of the blow forced that knee down. As my momentum finished carrying me up, I brought all my weight back down into a punch to this man's face with my shield, which rather easily knocked him unconscious. The other guy that I pancaked had started to stir, but a quick kick to the side of the head stopped him.

As I finished them off, the rest of the men—only three, thank dust—had started walking down the ramp of the ship, and upon seeing me they drew weapons and rushed me in unison. The man on the far left pulled what looked like a shotgun with a large bayonet on the end, the man rushing in the middle having drawn what appeared to be either two tomahawks or two small battle axes, and the man on the right having a mace along with a holstered pistol of some sort. The man on the left reached me first, trying to stab into me with the bayonet. I sidestepped to the left, but he fired the weapon and used its momentum to draw his weapon back across my right side, forcing me to block the blow with my sword rather than counter-attack. Once his weapon had finished firing, he ducked his head and tomahawk-bro jumped off his shoulders with both tomahawks reared back, ready for a powerful double blow from over top. I managed to get my shield up and use his momentum to flip him over me. This left me unable to block the mace from the third man, so I settled with gently falling on my back by using the weight as I flipped the second man in order to let the mace pass over me harmlessly. However, I forgot to tuck my sword in as I fell and the mace made contact with it midair, knocking it from my grasp.

I rolled backwards over my neck and got to my feet, now with two enemies before me and one still picking himself off the ground behind me. Shotgunner rushed me again and went for the stab, but this time I let it just barely clip my left side as I immediately countered with my empty right fist to his face. With the shotgun now between my side and shield-arm, I clamped down on it and chopped at his wrists with my free hand, and after having stunned him with a tap to the face, the weapon came free in my arms. Without even looking, I pulled the trigger and grinned maliciously when I heard a loud "UMPH" from tomahawk-bro, who had gotten off the ground and tried to sneak behind me. I pulled the trigger again, receiving another "UMPH" from the guy before I spun around and lodged the bayonet into his stomach. To my surprise, it sunk in after only minimal resistance from whatever was left of this man's aura. The blade became stuck, and with no time to waste, I pulled the trigger and yanked the weapon free as it fired, then used that momentum to swing the butt of the stock around and catch its owner in the head, knocking him out as well.

The third man hadn't moved, and when I turned my eyes to him, his went wide. A quick glance to the side told me that one of the crates had clearly been marked as having medical supplies, and I decided to try something to help the poor bastard who I likely just condemned to death.

"If you lay down your weapons and surrender…" I accentuated by pointing the barrel of the shotgun at him, his comrade's blood still dripping off of it. "…then I'll let you save him."

I didn't know if these men were friends, or if they had worked together for a while, or even if I was fighting a thug with a heart of gold, but after a few seconds my opponent relented and dropped his mace, followed soon by the pistol he had holstered. _Maybe I just am that scary_ I thought with a chuckle.

True to my word, I tossed away the shotgun and motioned for him to go to the supply crate, which he did quickly, avoiding my gaze as soon as possible.

I turned to leave him and walked up the ramp of the ship, to find it empty, save for one person who was glaring at a monitor on the dash. Upon hearing footsteps, he checked behind him, revealing his face as Dr. Watts. Upon seeing me, he gave up on the monitor and turned to face me.

"Ah, Mr. Arc, I see that you've managed to sabotage my ride somehow. Oh well, I surrender." He called out, with a slight mock in his voice.

"…Just like that?" I asked, confused.

"Just like that. In fact, I'd like to offer my assistance to you…" He trailed off, but when I never replied, he continued on. "I'd like to help you think through what's going to happen next." While there was still mockery in his voice, there was also a dangerous edge indicating that I was nearing the end of his patience.

"Well, I'm pretty sure this is the part where I take you in…"

"Is it? To where, may I ask? You've seen what just one member of Salem's inner circle can do: think 'Beacon.' Do you honestly think yourself capable of capturing and holding _two_ without any repercussions? Doing so would put _such_ a large target on your back, and I'm sure you didn't do all of this just to get yourself and your friends killed trying to keep us captive."

He wasn't wrong about that. Not even with all of Neo's connections could we whisk those two away to somewhere Salem couldn't find them. I doubt that even Raven could keep them hidden, and that was only if she _wanted_ to take that risk. _She'd sooner behead them and move on, but somehow, I don't think that will go over well with everyone else. Well, Neo would be all for it..._

"Okay, so I won't keep you tied up in my basement, but I'm still taking you in."

"Are you? To where? As far as I can figure, the only places capable of holding such dangerous prisoners would be in the heart of a super-max prison surrounded by military. Only one such place, official or unofficial, exists, and that would be deep in the heart of Atlas. Simply putting us aboard Atlas' air fleet wouldn't work; Torchwick taught you that much."

"Well, then we ship you to Atlas. Problem solved."

"Who is we? Jaune Arc, terrorist and assassin of Atlas' commander? Neo Politian, assassin who broke Torchwick out of prison and stole Atlas' flagship?" He asked mockingly.

"Qrow Branwen." I said as I remembered that he was here. His presence here was a real boon for us. _One could even say that we are…_

"Ah, isn't that a stroke of _luck_." _Lucky to have him_. "Well, let's think about that then. Qrow Branwen _singlehandedly_ apprehends two of Salem's generals and dozens of foot soldiers in Mistral's backyard, and then ships them all off to an Atlas concentration camp without due process? Boy, that would do my job for me! Mistral would throw a fit and inter-kingdom relations would shatter, especially with a lack of true leadership from Atlas to smooth things out."

His point was clear. We _are_ in Mistral, and anyone we captured would have to go through Mistral first. He certainly wasn't wrong. Yet. _I hope._

"Okay, so we hand you over to Mistral and they lock you up until we convince them to transfer you to Atlas. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal?" He asked with a laugh. "That's like you're _asking_ for us to go free. There are so many ways that goes wrong: multiple prison transfers to be hit, international politics, and court battles, just to name a few. On top of all that, you haven't thought the most fundamental part through…"

"And what would that be?" I asked, clearly irritated with being jerked around.

"The charges would _never_ stick. You'll never convince anyone important that Hazel and I are two members of Salem's secret organization that no one knows about, and if you did then you would never convince a jury that Qrow could take all of us down alone. _Then_ you would have to explain who helped take us down and the circumstances surrounding it. Then, all you are left with is a ransom exchange between a terrorist—that's you—and Neo Politian, the head of an organized crime syndicate...and Hazel, who has no criminal record. _I_ was one of two hostages Hazel was exchanging in return for Ruby Rose—your hostage who you have a history of violence against."

"That…that won't work!" I shouted angrily.

"Why not? _I_ am an upstanding citizen and businessman with great relationships with important people and a squeaky-clean public image. There's not a man working for Hazel who won't say that I was a hostage. Even if all your men testify that I wasn't one, how reliable are their testimonies? They were hired by a terrorist, after all. And a drunk one, at that."

"What about Pyrrha?" I asked, with some of the strength returning to me as I started thinking more clearly.

The bastard had the gall to snicker.

" _Her?_ I think you'll find her unable to testify against anyone, sadly."

My stomach dropped at his words. _What is he getting at?_ Did they do something to her, or change her in some way? I always had to confront the possibility of that in my mind, but I never really considered what form it might take. If it came down to Watts or me, should I still be confident she would pick me?

"I see from your face that you now feel the gravity of the situation. Here's what you're going to do, _Jaune_ : you are going to order everyone to stand down on your end, and I'll do the same. We walk out of here with everyone we came with—or at least, everyone still breathing—and you do the same. You move on with your life and consider yourself _extremely_ lucky to have gotten such a generous deal from both myself and Salem. You have no angles left to try. I came just as prepared as you did; we'll call this one a draw. If you try to take me in, then you'll end up in jail for much longer than I will."

Silence hung in the air as we stared at each other, unmoving. All of Dr. Watts' cards had been played. That was it. If he had anything left to use, anything that would let him walk away with something more than a draw, he would have used it now. I had seen everything he had. _And I still have one final move up my sleeve._

"A terrorist, huh? That's quite a stretch; I'd call him more of an undercover Atlas specialist." A voice called out from behind me, followed by the sound of shattered glass as a sniper rifle round was fired at Watts' other shoulder. The shot rang throughout the metal ship, deafening my ears, but I didn't need them to know what had happen.

Out from behind me strode the ex-Atlas specialist and sniper that had led Neo's men. At least, that's what we all told them, that he was an ex-specialist who was looking for a more profitable life.

"How have you enjoyed being a mercenary for a few days?" I asked the figure with a wide grin spreading across my face. He turned to face me, and even through the helmet he wore I could tell he wasn't happy, but I didn't care; I had _won_.

"Don't push it. We'll talk later." He said sternly to me. It was well deserved; I did kinda ignore his plan and used him to push my own, but hey, it worked, didn't it? "Dr. Watts, let _me_ tell _you_ how this is going to go. You're all going to be taken into Atlas custody immediately, to be shipped to that lovely off-books 'concentration camp,' as you put it, escorted by half the fleet. I will remain here and personally kiss the ass of any and every Mistralian politician who is angered by such measures. There will be no court challenges, no prisoner exchanges to hit, and certainly no charges for any of _my_ operatives. This is the end of the line for you."

If I had any doubts that Watts had any other tricks left, they were erased as I saw his face: all of the blood had drained from it, and it looked whiter than Weiss' hair. _Well, okay,_ almost _as white as that._

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Watts' managed to ask, despite his surprise and discomfort.

"That's fuckin' IronDaddy!" I called out, not being able to help myself. The moment I found out he was going to go undercover as an ex-Atlas mercenary, I did everything I could to ensure that everyone believed that was his handle. From how frequently it was used over the comms, I would have to say mission accomplished.

Amazingly—he _really_ hates that name—he didn't react to me, but instead pushed a button on the side of his helmet that allowed him to take it off, dropping it to the floor at his side. To my left, I heard two sets of wings flutter and I briefly glanced to my side to see both Qrow and Raven appear. Qrow shot me a glare that would freeze vodka and melt glass simultaneously, but was quickly distracted trying to figure out what was going on in front of us.

The moment Watts saw his face, anger came over his own face and his fists clenched as he charged forward in rage. He knew he was beaten and that he had failed Salem, and that likely wasn't something he had been prepared for. In his rage, he tried to swing at— _heh heh_ —IronDaddy, only to have the much larger man deflect the incoming right hand with his left, then duck his shoulder and use Watts' own momentum to flip him over. Watts landed with a sickening thud, which knocked both the wind and the fight out of him.

"What the…?" I heard Qrow mumbled under his breath, along with other, less seemly things.

The motion put Watts on the ground and the other man facing our direction. As he looked up, I locked eyes with General James Ironwood.

* * *

Present

(Qrow's POV)

" _If I had known that faking my death would get me out of press conferences, I would have done it years ago." General Ironwood started off his press conference with a well-received joke, establishing precedent for lightening the mood of such a serious matter. "I'm sure you all have questions, and I'm sure that at least some of you read the official statement, so I'll take your questions now. Let's go with you, there, in the second row."_

" _General Ironwood, how could you leave such an unstable situation behind when all other details of this seem meticulously planned?" Asked one reporter, a blonde with glasses who likely dressed to appear that she got to her position on looks rather than acumen. Typical, as reporters who don't look like they'll ask tough questions tend to get called more. It was just part of the game._

" _Unstable situation? I'm certain I don't know what you're talking about. Atlas has a very clear chain of command, and if I wasn't confident in my successor's abilities to lead in my absence, then I would have briefed them ahead of time. In a larger sense, if I don't have my replacement prepared to take my place at any moment, then what would happen should I actually be assassinated? I'm confident that the actions of the Atlas military in my absence speak for themselves."_

"You buying any of that?" My sister asked as she walked past me to the freezer, where she pulled out two more ice packs. One she tossed to me, and the other she used to replace her previous one on her thigh. All in all, walking away from _that_ fight with just a thigh bruise—even a nasty one—was lucky for her.

I grimaced as I had to take my old ice pack from between my legs and wrap the new one to my crotch.

"He left the world's largest military in the hands of _Winter Schnee_. I don't buy a damn word." I replied, eyes still glued to the breakroom—if you could call it that; it was more of a Specialists' lounge—TV.

"Ah, well, someone has to take credit for it, and hopefully in a way that _doesn't_ spark an outrage. The last thing we need is for this to stir up any Grimm. If anything, Ironwood has a soothing voice for the masses."

"I'll be sure to tell the General how you feel about his voice, sis. I could set you two up if, well, no I couldn't." I abandoned my own joke, even before Raven threatened me with my life for it, which usually was the best part of my jokes. "I don't think I could _ever_ convince him to go on a blind date. Or a non-blind one."

" _General Ironwood, many of the names in the report are redacted. What can you tell us about the sentencing and connections of the names released to the public?"_

" _Ah, good question. First of all, the two high-ranking officials of the nameless terrorist organization believed to be behind the sabotage of the Vytal Festival—not the White Fang, who were bolstered by this group—shall never have their names released due to their ties. What I can tell you is that Neo Politian and Atlas have a contract similar to witness protection and we will be using what contacts of hers that we can to track down remaining terrorist cells. As for Jaune Arc, the only thing I foresee being brought against him is a medal pinned to his chest."_

 _A blaze of questions from the reporters erupted, and after a few moments the general was able to quiet them down enough to get one question heard above the others._

" _General, just a few days ago the Atlas military labeled him their top enemy and the public was made to be on the lookout for his whereabouts. Now you're telling us that he was a hero in all of this?"_

" _That's exactly what I'm telling you. Jaune Arc needed a drastic action to earn his way into the terrorist cell he helped bring down, and assassinating myself was the most effective option. We could not risk anyone finding out that my death was staged, so everything had to proceed as if he really had killed me. That is also the reason that his attack, while it appeared to have crippled my ship, did not bring it crashing down; it was, somewhat, planned. All said, the only people who knew that it was fake outside of us two were Neo Politian and the coroner who signed off on my fake body, who right now is enjoying a nice paid vacation in an undisclosed area."_

"I never thought I'd see the day you were brazen enough to walk around an Atlas ship, much less take a nap in the Specialists' Lounge." I called out antagonistically to Raven.

"I told you; I'm a borderline ally to Atlas, at least for the time being. Besides, did you think I would miss the fireworks?"

"What fireworks?"

"When Ironwood rips Jaune a new one." She answered with a wicked grin. My confusion must have been obvious. _That feels like a new trend around here; I don't like it._ "I was there when Jaune and James struck a bargain. It mentioned nothing about Jaune attacking Ruby, or killing 5 Atlas personnel, or stealing classified information. All they were going to do was double-cross Salem when she ransomed Pyrrha, but I'm pretty sure if things went south Jaune was ready to hand over whatever he needed to in order to save that girl."

My eyes widened briefly as a thought crossed my mind, and I looked at Raven quizzically. She understood my meaning.

"Yes. Even Ruby."

"So what you're saying is…"

" _General Ironwood, if such a mission was so sensitive that even the next-in-command of the Atlas Military couldn't know of it, then why did it hinge on a 17-year-old Huntsman student from Vale, especially one who was reported to have gone on multiple-day long drinking binges?"_

 _The room went silent, as did General Ironwood. It was a good question, one that certainly needed to be answered carefully. After all, it wasn't hard to see how that sounded suspicious. In all likelihood, the General had to have known something along the lines of this question would be asked; it wasn't as if it was the first time this question had been brought up, but it was the first time it was by someone_ other _than the General himself._

" _Because, quite frankly, the majority of the intelligence we now have was brought to me by Mr. Arc, who had already begun infiltrating this organization on his own. When he came to me, I had the decision to try to stop him then and there, or support him with the full weight of the Atlas Military. Obviously, I chose to bet everything on this exceptional young man. While I cannot say I made the right decision, I certainly do believe the results speak for themselves._

 _"And as for the drinking part, one of the strangest lessons I ever learned from Beacon's Headmaster Ozpin was that alcoholics can be used in the strangest ways to combat the enemy, and be shockingly effective. That's not to say that Jaune is a drunk or anywhere close, but it doesn't mean that I would necesarrily consider that a crutch." If that last part seemed impromptu, that's because it was. The General was trying to put distance between him and the words of his lines just before, in the hopes the the press wouldn't zero in on them._

 _They did._

" _General Ironwood, are you saying that you bet national secrets on a kid and you just got lucky?"_

" _No, I do not believe that is what I_ said _."_

Bullshit.

* * *

 **Author's Anecdote That Has Nothing To Do With The Story, Per Say:**

 **In case you wanted to know, myself and my friends are hopeless nerds with very similar tastes, so if one of us finds a good show or video game, it isn't long before we are all hopelessly addicted to it. That happened with RWBY, where I got them all addicted to it, and to the video game Destiny, where again I got them all addicted to it.**

 **Because we are such nerds (and losers, but that's a different story), we realized that Ironwood's gun from Volume Three looks freaking** _ **identical**_ **to an exotic Handcannon from Destiny, the Hawkmoon. It's to the point where you cannot convince us it was not an intentional nod to it; I remember even Achievement Hunter gave Destiny: The Taken King their pick as game of the year once, and said that it singlehandedly ruined productivity in their offices for a month.**

 **So running with this, we started to create characters from the show in our loadouts, with my go-to being my "Iron Daddy" loadout. I would rock the aforementioned Hawkmoon and a white shader to turn all of my armor white. From there, it was a matter of finding a formal or stylish chest piece, smooth- but wide-shouldered gauntlets, really any boots, and a helmet. I typically settled with the Helm of Inmost Light, because it looked eerily similar to a generic Atlas soldier's helmet. To top it all off, I would run the Striker Subclass for this Titan, which allowed me to do things like Shoulder Charge enemies into oblivion and punch stuff to death if it survived my massive hand cannon, much like how Ironwood kills a grim without really any effort in V3.**

 **Also, we are goofy enough to coordinate all of our colors before we ever step foot into an activity, and if we had four people in a group, you can** **guarantee** **that we all brought our RWBY shaders: Superblack (or most any Dead Orbit faction shader) for Blake, God of War for Ruby, Midas for Yang, and Chatterwhite for Weiss. If we had 5 people, we would run Team RWBY + Ironwood. If we had six?**

 **Eh, the sixth guy was shunned from the group. We didn't have a sixth option. Maybe they could wear a solid black shader and they could be Blake's shadowclones.**

 **As I write that, it sounds like a really good idea. I can't believe we never actually did that.**

 **All of this is to say that I am a fan of General James Ironwood, or IronDaddy as we affectionately call him; did you _really_ think I would so flippantly kill him off? :P **


	17. Manly Heart to Heart

**Author's Note: Jeez, I sure use the term 'luck' a lot. I wonder if that has any significance?**

 _ **Nah.**_

* * *

Present

(Ironwood's POV)

I took one final glance around the room to ensure that everyone was here that needed to be here. There was somewhat of a crowd, but that was mostly because very few people were calm enough to sit down at the conference table and instead paced around or just stood. To the left, Lie Ren sat while his partner roamed behind him, never straying too far from his side. Seated next to him was Weiss Schnee, who had taken a seat to remain close to Ruby, who was in the next seat. Yang Xiao Long, however, would not accept any distance between her and her sister, and was practically draped over the back of Ruby's chair. At the opposite head of the table, Qrow leaned against a chair, and in the far back left corner of the room, Raven leaned against the corner wall, idly observing everything; Qrow, however, had not taken his eyes off me. On the right side of the table sat Mrs. Nikos, with her husband pacing around behind her, similar to how Miss Valkyrie was doing near Ren.

With everyone gathered, I leaned over the table and accessed the control panel, where I activated the offline protocol. Heavy metal shades began to cover the windows and hissing sounds came from the door frames as the room began pressurizing itself, then soundproofing itself. The last step, though silent, was the radio jammer emitted from the room, ensuring that whatever was said in this room would be unknown to any outside of it. With this done, I stood back up straight and prepared to address the room.

"I'm sure you all have questions, but if you could hold them just a short while longer, I believe it would be worth your while. I've called you all together for two reasons, the first of which is to tell you—off the record—what really happened. I do believe it goes without saying that it is best this information is not shared outside of this room." Although there seemed to be a few individuals who objected to not having their questions—or demands—answered, most of them nodded along eventually. Save for Raven, that is, who just rolled her eyes.

"As I understand from Neo Politian, this all started when Jaune figured out how to access the Academy's hidden floors, using Mr. Nikos here's credentials. I'm told that he had nothing specific he was hunting for, but I haven't confirmed that. While there, he learned of a power that he could bargain for from Cinder Fall, the Fall Maiden. By coincidence not long after, Neo and one Mercury Black executed a small strike against an armory in the city, and when Jaune confronted them, he let them go in exchange for a meeting."

"How did he get them to agree to a meeting?" Qrow asked pointedly. Certain people in this room already know more of the story than others, and Qrow being one of them means he can ask more relevant questions.

"He gave them intel that Ozpin was still around, and that was enough to pique their curiosity." Qrow's expression hardened while others around the room shared looks and a few whispers, but no one else sought to ask another question. "At that meeting, Jaune was knocked out and transported to the lair of Salem, Cinder's master for those of you unaware. I believe Team RNJR had a run in with one of her more…charismatic generals. It was there that Jaune somehow convinced Salem to make a deal, where Jaune would get his wish if he could assassinate myself and steal Atlas secrets."

Raven's eared perked up at that last part, and the flash of surprise on her face matched Qrow's. Their meaning was simple: _Jaune dealt directly with Salem herself?_

"After this meeting, Jaune was returned and had an alibi set up of having been drunk for two days, meaning Qrow once again owns the record for the longest bender." There were a few chuckles at that, just enough to ease some of the tension in the room. Yang had even sniggered.

"Please. Two days is nothing." Qrow replied annoyed.

"Regardless, once Jaune had been…recovered, what was the first thing he did?" I asked the room. It was an old habit I had to ensure that everyone was paying attention, though I realized after I had done it that there wasn't anyone who _wasn't_ paying attention very closely.

"He snuck out." Weiss Schnee answered from her seat. "And never would answer where he had been."

"He went to meet Neo Politian, who had reached out to him. As it turns out, being a pawn of Cinder's is not a very safe occupation, and Neo had been planning her way out since long before Beacon fell. With Jaune to distract Salem, Neo felt she could make her move, so she offered to help Jaune. It was also at this meeting that Jaune met Raven Branwen." I shifted my gaze to the back corner where she was, and everyone followed my eyes.

"Should I even ask why you were already involved with Torchwick's people?" Yang asked with a sigh. To everyone in the room, it was obvious there was tension there, despite not everyone knowing their relationship. In fact, I'd say that only around half of the room knows of it.

"I already had talks with Neo about acquiring new hardware. Before Cinder turned Torchwick into a dust vacuum, he proved his value with his heists. There weren't many who could steal Atlas tech, especially not military hardware."

"Should I ask what you need military hardware for?" Yang cut back at her mother.

"No. You shouldn't."

The room went silent for a few moments as Yang and Raven stared at each other, before I interrupted it.

"They set a plan to have Jaune meet with me privately, while Neo slipped aboard to deactivate a shielding that prevents certain people from teleporting aboard and stealing hardware."

"And there's the reason I needed Torchwick in the first place." Raven replied with a grin, much to the ire of her daughter. Qrow just shook his head and tried not to get between them.

"With that done, Raven came aboard and…persuaded me to agree to their plan."

"And what, _exactly_ , did that plan entail?" Asked Mr. Nikos. His eyes and jaw were set hard, but that wasn't drew my attention. I had met the man before, as part of Atlas' treaty to enter the air space, and I do not remember him having a silver sword and sheath at his hip. _Now that I look at it, I can see a shield and two swords poking out from behind his back._

"Jaune and Neo would strike my ship with the help of Mercury Black. I set protocols in place to minimize any damage Mercury might do, which is way the ship never crashed. Neo was to go to the armory and blow up what remained after Raven took what we agreed upon, and probably some extra knowing the Branwens." I looked up, only to meet the flat stare of Raven _and_ Qrow. "Jaune came up and tossed an ungodly amount of flashbang and smoke grenades, and in the haze Raven exchanged my body for a fake."

"You guys created a fake body that fooled everyone in a matter of days?" Nora asked incredulously, but with a spark of enthusiasm that worried me.

"Heavens no. I've had this thing for almost a year now. You never know when you need to fake your death. And it didn't have to fool everyone; the doctor that performs autopsies on my flagship is quite tight-lipped, and also enjoying his vacation right about now."

From the stares around the room, I figured most everyone didn't agree with my death-faking preparations. Except for Raven, who looked like she approved, and Qrow, who almost looked jealous.

"From there, the plan was simple: Jaune and Neo take a ship I had set aside in a spare hangar, where I would be waiting in the cargo hold. We contact Salem's people, and during the exchange we capture anyone we can."

"And how well did that plan go?" Ren asked, though with the way he cut his eyes at me I suspected it to be sarcastic; it was hard to tell with that one, though.

"Not altogether disastrously. In terms of results, it actually went beyond expectations. In terms of execution, however, I still have a bone to pick with Jaune."

The room was silent, with only a few shared glances to substitute for communication, that is until Ruby broke it intentionally. "And why is that?" She asked with sarcasm much clearer than Ren's.

"Jaune had his own plan. Instead of trusting that ours would work, he sought to play against all sides, and I'm certain that he was encouraged to do so by Neo and…" I cut my eyes at Raven subtly, though a few caught my meaning. "… _others_. He figured that he should up the stakes to ensure he got his reward."

"Yeah. He only shot me because I stumbled across him trying to flee with Neo. They even arranged to drop me off at a hospital before they realized I could be used as a…" Ruby trailed off as she realized everyone was looking at her funny. "…uh, a hostage." She squeaked out.

"That was me, by the way." I filled in for Ruby, if for no other reason than to come clean that I was involved in that, though I was furious at the time. Seriously, the security cameras at that hospital were practically nonexistent, too.

"It was while Jaune was in interrogation that Neo showed up at my room, and we…uh, we talked. Yeah, that's what I'd call it." Ruby didn't miss the multitude of strange looks she had been getting from across the room, and in turn she looked sheepish. No doubt some of the people here will be angry at Ruby for hiding things from them, but then again, she was shot and kidnapped, so she has that going for her.

"What did you 'talk' about?" Qrow asked, his patience having magically returned, but only for Ruby. I myself perked up to hear her answer, as it was still an unknown to me. Neo had been an integral part of Jaune's plans, and yet I never came close to understanding _why_ she worked so closely with him.

"She…very forcefully asked what happened the night Beacon fell, when Torchwick and I fought on the ship. I…told her the truth, that a Griffon ate him. I didn't really expect her to believe it, though, but after a really scary wait, she nodded to me. I think she already suspected that Cinder betrayed them, but…"

"But?"

"I think if I had told her I killed Torchwick, then I wouldn't be here." Ruby's voice was low as she finished. Most of the room reacted the same way, with surprise and a tinge of fear, with Qrow leading the pack in terms of anger as his fists not so subtly clenched.

"You _think_? I can guarantee that you wouldn't." Raven called out, stifling a laugh as she did.

" _Mom!_ " Yang barked back furiously, her patience having run thin. Either she forgot that she hadn't told anyone that Raven and she were related, or she finally didn't care. Everyone has lines that shouldn't be crossed; for Yang, that appears to be her sister. _If anyone has crossed Ruby, though, it's Jaune; I'd love to watch the fireworks when Yang corners him._

"Why wouldn't Jaune come to any of us with this? It sounds like he only came to you because he _had_ to." Mr. Nikos asked, sensing the tension and looking for a way to avoid it.

"That's not something I can answer. If you recall, Jaune didn't even really come to me for help; he ignored my plan and did things on his own, regardless of what we agreed on." Another silence fell across the room. Those seem to be far too frequent. Instead of glances and whispers, everyone seemed to have their own target to stare at. Nora and Ren locked eyes from beside each other, never moving their gaze. Mr. and Mrs. Nikos both locked eyes on me, while in turn I met Mr. Nikos hard stare. Ruby's eyes were fixed on the table before her, as were Yang's, though from their posture it was clear that Ruby was nervous or uncertain, while Yang wanted nothing more than to put a hole through the table in anger. Qrow's eyes softly fixed on his nieces and glazed over, deep in thought. Raven's just rolled to the ceiling yet again. "I would say the only person capable of answering that is Jaune, and I'm certain that everyone will get their chance to drag an answer out of him. Right now, however, it's my turn to do so."

I began to make for the secondary entrance just behind me, where I typed into the control panel and began deactivating the room's security.

"You said you had two things for us when you called us in here. What's the second?" A voice I didn't recognize called to me; seeing as I knew everyone else in the room, the voice had to have belonged to Mrs. Nikos.

"Ah, yes. I wasn't entirely accurate when I said Jaune did all of this for a power. It was more of a…a favor, per say. Wouldn't you agree with that, Ruby?" I asked, to which she quickly nodded and subsequently avoided everyone else's gaze. "Sorry to put you on the spot, there, but I want everyone to know that Ruby and Qrow did already know about this, but I asked them not to reveal it yet. It hasn't been announced publicly yet, and I wanted all of you to see it for yourselves."

I reached over to the intercom function on the panel, that leads to the waiting room just outside. " _Come on in. We're ready._ " In the few moments before the door opened, I pulled out my scroll and subtly began recording the view of the people assembled in front of me.

If nothing else, they might later want to see their own faces as their daughter, teammate, and friend was brought back to life before their own eyes.

* * *

Present

(Neo's POV)

The only reason that I came to Ironwood's office is I figured that Jaune would be in a particularly chatty mood, and I could get a deeper glimpse into his group's dynamic or what his plan to win them back was. After all, it isn't as if there's much I can do now that I'm working with Atlas. Sure, I could go out and supervise some of the operations I have left, but the odds of me dying in the field? Well, right now they aren't that big, since not much time has passed. But I rebelled from Cinder's—and by extension, Salem's—control and took it a step further by siding with their enemies, so exposing myself would be suicidal, no matter _how_ good I am with an umbrella blade.

Jaune spent the whole time sitting in one of the chairs set up in front of the desk, just staring off into the void. He was quieter than me, which is never a good thing.

After about ten minutes, I gave up on Jaune and proceeded to craft a good spot for a nap out of my semblance. Typically, I only use it for optical illusions, but creating mirrors and glass images certainly has other uses, such as sculpting a thick, ergonomic slab of elevated glass to take a nap on. While not usually very comfortable, you would be amazed how good it feels when you sculpt it to fit the curve of your body. As an added bonus, I conjured up one extra layer of glass in front of me to completely conceal my position, making this one of my favorite things ever: a stealth nap.

After about an hour, I was awoken by the sound of a door opening, and in walked General Ironwood. Jaune still hadn't moved, and the General moved to sit in his chair on the opposite side of the desk. Before saying anything, he made a few taps on a control panel sitting at his desk, and I heard the sounds of the door locking.

"Alright, I think I know what this is about…" Jaune started off before Ironwood could address him.

"And what would that be?" Ironwood said with a tired voice.

"I know this will be hard to hear, but I swear it wasn't me that told _everyone_ on board that your cover name was IronDaddy. I know you won't believe me, but you have to consider other angles. I would suggest Qrow, or Raven." Instead of anger or frustration, Ironwood let out a long sigh and shrugged off Jaune's joke.

"Do you remember our last conversation here?" He asked. It was a redundant question, but it was more of a plea to Jaune to take this conversation more seriously, and after a few moments, it worked.

"Yes. Of course I do."

"I have to say, you played that conversation well; much better than anyone who knew of you would have suspected you capable of." Ironwood started off, intentionally taking his time before getting to a point. "Perhaps that's just everyone else's fault, however. After Winter's investigation uncovered that you forged your way into Beacon, things make a little more sense."

"How so?" Jaune asked back quietly.

"From what Winter gathered in interviews of your friends, you joined Beacon for a couple of reasons despite having no training, or even aura. While Winter's notes frequently used the word 'naïve,' she does admit that it appears your desire to be a Huntsman was not for power or prestige. You wanted to show your family that you could do it, and you wanted to help people."

"I…guess that would be pretty accurate. I never had any definable goals or anything attainable. Just a desire to be more." Jaune answered.

"When I read that, what I really read is that you desired to prove that you could do more than ever expected of you, and that you wanted to achieve this by helping others. In most situations, I would say that those are incorruptibly good goals to strive towards."

"I'm feeling a 'but' coming on…"

"I have little doubt that Ozpin intentionally let you into Beacon despite your transcripts. There's no way Glynda would have let something so sloppy by her…" The General chuckled to himself softly, and Jaune just shrugged. " _But…_ I think that I have found Ozpin's mistake with you, and I want you to know that Ozpin makes very, very few true mistakes that _I_ am able to find."

Jaune didn't reply, and instead a silence hung dangerously in the room as the two locked eyes.

"Ozpin let you in, despite your fake records, either because he sensed that you had pure intentions or he knew that you were capable of impressive feats. The problem with both of these originates in you being _willing_ to fake your transcripts to achieve your goals. That immediately demonstrates that you are willing to take unorthodox or extreme measures, and it also speaks of you being capable of taking things too far."

Jaune laughed softly.

"Are you trying to tell me that I was _destined_ to do something like this?" Jaune asked while leaning forward, apparently infinitely more invested in the conversation now. It's not hard to figure out why, however. _His feelings about Destiny are…significant, to say the least._

"Not necessarily. I was just thinking that in another life, you would have made one hell of a spy. A young man with a heart of gold but a loose-cannon philosophy training at the most prestigious academy on Remnant? That sounds like, well, it's pretty similar to how Qrow started out."

Jaune did his best not to react, but his eyebrows deceived him as they raised slightly in surprise. The General did not miss that.

"However, it's also much the same start that Raven had, too, so you see my concern."

"And which one would you say I am more like?" Jaune asked.

"Qrow, without a doubt. That's not to say you two would be drinking buddies or anything, but Raven's path contains far less honorable goals most days. There is still at least _some_ redeemable things in what you did."

"Well, General, you didn't come in here to talk to me about Qrow, did you?" Jaune asked once his actions had finally been broached.

"No, I didn't." Ironwood reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a small stack of files, handing them to Jaune. "During the attack on this ship that _we planned_ , several lives were lost. I knew the risks of this when I agreed to the deal, and most of those deaths are on my head, but I live with it knowing that I took as many covert steps to reduce casualties as possible. There was only minimal personnel in the areas attacked, save for the bridge. _However_ , there are four men who died that I have evidence that _you_ killed them, and a fifth man who I highly suspect you killed but I can't prove it without a ballistics report on the gun you used, which I assume has been destroyed. To add to that, you left a sixth man critically wounded who only survived by sheer luck that a medic had been having an affair in a supply closet when the attack began, and happened upon your victim."

"Ah, so you're here to punish me for that. It's about time, honestly." Jaune answered, trying to deflect from the topic. I remember his meltdown on the bullhead as we escaped that fight, so I know he can't be as callous about this as he wants to be. _I just hope Ironwood suspects that, and pushes him on it._

"No. As far as Atlas in concerned, you did nothing wrong." The General answered with a sigh.

" _Nothing wrong_? I broke our deal and murdered five people. Did their lives not matter just as much as Pyrrha's?" Jaune asked as a fit of anger came over him.

"Judging by _your_ actions, clearly not." Ironwood accused, sapping the fight out of Jaune with only a sentence. "Five lives for one seems like a bad deal to me, but I'm not the one who took it. That's something you'll have to live with."

"But…they really aren't going to punish me for that?" Jaune asked, almost disappointed.

"As far as Atlas cares, we are at war and lost five brave soldiers to the enemy, but in return we capture two high-value targets. There isn't an army out there who wouldn't parade that as a major victory. Sure, it will be hard for the families of the deceased, but in the long run five men may have just martyred themselves to end this war sooner."

Jaune still did not answer, and wouldn't meet Ironwood's gaze either. His eyes drifted down to his lap, and his posture slumped too.

"While I'm sure your friends will give you hell for a while, the only person who can really punish you for what you did is yourself. That's just something that you'll have to live with now." The General stated solidly, as if it was meant as a push for Jaune.

"What about you?" Jaune asked softly, to no answer from Ironwood. "Why aren't you 'giving me hell' for it? You have more of a right than they do to be angry. These were _your_ men I killed after I took advantage of the deal _you_ agreed to. I half expected you to sick Winter on me and call it even. Why haven't _you_ come after me?"

"That's because I don't blame you for what happened." The General answered, unable to look Jaune in the eyes as he glanced off to the side.

"That's bullshit. You don't blame me for _my_ actions and _my_ choices? What is this, some sort of pre-destination, 'Fate made me do it' crap? Fate had no fucking thing to do with this, okay?! _I_ did this. _I_ did it all. I made every decision and took every risk onto myself. This wasn't destiny, and it's not the results of bad circumstances. This is what I chose to do. Why wouldn't you blame me for _my_ actions?" Jaune practically shouted, his anger having returned only to take a deeper hold on him. However, Jaune never noticed that as his anger boiled, Ironwood's was rising to match it.

"Because you're a kid and I'm not! You came to me as a 17-year-old who had gotten involved in a dangerous game. I'm the very model of a modern major general! The biggest reason I agreed to the deal is because you had gotten in over your head, and I needed to protect you, Jaune. If you felt that I, for all the power and influence I command in this army, couldn't help you, then I failed you. What good is leading an army against Salem's plans when you chose to tangle yourself in them instead? I can't blame you, because before I can do that I have to blame myself, and once that's done there isn't any more blame to go around."

Their shouting having subsided, the two men sat there staring at each other as they let their tempers cool off. If they had something to say, they couldn't figure out how to say it, so they simply chose to sit there and process what had been said.

"I had one other thing I wanted to speak to you about." Ironwood said after what felt like a minute or two.

"What is it?" Jaune asked softly, but eagerly, both having been looking for a way to avoid finishing their _other_ conversation.

"Security movements for you and Pyrrha."

"What do you mean?"

"You've just betrayed the most dangerous woman in the world, Jaune. We need to keep you out of her grasp, at least until her temper dies down and she focuses on a new target."

"That makes sense, I suppose. You can't just keep me aboard this ship?" Jaune asked.

"No, nor can we hide you anywhere in Mistral. Firstly, we want to move you somewhere else to keep you away from any operatives in the area she may still have. And secondly, you're currently a mix between a hero and public enemy number on in both Atlas and Mistral, since there _was_ a manhunt for you not too long ago. Keeping you in either location only increases the odds of you being recognized and called out."

"That makes sense, I suppose. Are you going to split us up?"

"I don't think we could." Ironwood gave Jaune a look, but I wasn't sure if that look meant that Pyrrha would oppose that plan, or Jaune would. "No, we think it would be best to send you somewhere with your team, and if they are willing, team RWBY as well. Strength in numbers, as it were, and Ruby needs to be protected for the time being anyways. To that tune, we have already spoken with Neo, and she has agreed to go with. All she really needs to run her organization is a working scroll, and we can ensure that she has an encrypted feed from most anywhere."

"What did you have in mind?" Jaune asked, though he had stiffened up at the prospect of the people who hated him the most at the moment being his new undercover buddies.

"Somewhere rural, well away from here, and preferably with a Huntsman or two for added security. We think that we have a good solution."

Instead of asking for it, Jaune tilted his head to the side and gave Ironwood an annoyed look.

"There is an island far to the west of here, that is home to a _trusted_ Huntsman. It is relatively free of Grimm—perks of a Huntsman's home—and the Huntsman is more than willing to take all of you in. I would go so far to say that he is eager to do it. I heard he even has a dog…"

Jaune gave Ironwood a flat look.

" _Patch?_ You want to send me to live in the house of the guy whose daughter I shot and kidnapped twice?" Jaune asked incredulously. Ironwood simply nodded.

"Well, if you are still worried that you haven't been punished adequately for your actions, I'm _sure_ Taiyang will be happy to oblige."


	18. Team JNPR?

**Author's Note: Technically, you could view last chapter onwards as epilogues, if you wanted to. They aren't since while the main plot is wrapped up, there are several intriguing character interactions. If you remember how this story began as a one-shot, then you know I do love playing with heartstrings when I can…**

* * *

Present

(Qrow's POV)

"Wake up." I said loudly, kicking the blond who was sprawled across some luggage crates. "We landed."

Jaune slowly sat upright and shook his head to wake himself up, before looking around to get his bearings.

"Where…?" He trailed off in a moment of confusion.

"Patch. You stowed away in the cargo hold because we can't leave a paper trail for you." I explained gruffly.

"Oh yeah. Tell me, Qrow, why did Pyrrha get to ride up top in an actual seat, with an actual seatbelt? She was supposed to avoid a paper trail too."

"Eh, she stowed away in the passenger area. They all did, actually." I responded, fighting a smirk.

"Oh, how convenient for them."

"Yeah, well, I haven't wanted to strangle any of them before. Or right now, for that matter."

"Okay, okay, I'm up! Sheesh…" Jaune barked back as he finally hopped off the crate. As he landed, he looked up and made eye contact with me, and then neither of us made any attempt to move.

"You still want to hit me, don't you?" He asked quietly, as if afraid of being overheard by anyone else.

" _Yes._ " I answered, still refusing to break my stare.

"Why haven't you?" He asked, not quite taunting but close.

My fists may have clenched, but I did a fantastic job at keeping them from leaving my sides. From Jaune's posture, I could tell that if I were to swing at him, he would make no attempt to avoid it, and something told me he wouldn't have told a soul. But after all that had happened, there was one thing that stayed my hand, one reason that I couldn't bring myself to attack him.

"You're going to get an ass-whooping much worse than what I could do as soon as Yang and Tai get you alone…" I answered, faking a chuckle to force the tension to die down. I motioned for Jaune to follow me as I started walking towards the exit ramp, and towards the rest of the group.

That wasn't the reason I couldn't attack him, though. Just a good excuse. No, the real reason is not something I can bring myself to say aloud.

As we approached the circle of what were—and might yet again be—I couldn't help but meet Tai's stare. To the group, his eyes seemed soft and warm, no doubt very welcoming and eager to meet his daughters' friends. The way he out-hugged Yang—no easy feat, I assure you—and yet tenderly embraced Ruby to avoid putting pressure on her wound was all the rest of them needed before they relaxed themselves. Tai had that effect on people, and even the Schnee looked visibly comfortable, happy even. _If I was a betting man, and most days I am, I'd put a lot of money he's already made at least two of those awful dad jokes._ In short, Taiyang was the perfect man to watch over the group for a few weeks.

When his eyes caught sight of me, they flashed a hardness in them that I recognized immediately. It wasn't the 'get out of here, Qrow' look I had gotten from him a thousand times because of my Semblance, nor was it a look of tension between us; dust knows there's never been a shortage of that. No, the anger that was caged behind his friendly demeanor was not for me, but he chose to show it to me. _He wants me to know he's not going to go light on Jaune._

Good. _Do what I can't, Tai; teach the little shit a thing or two_. I gave Tai a small frown and an even smaller nod of approval in response. Back in our Team STRQ days, Tai and I had grown to learn what the other was thinking, and from there we found we could almost flawlessly communicate intentions through glares, stares, nods, and other body language. It frustrated the hell out of Summer, who loved talking and being talked to, because she felt like we were leaving her out of some conversation. Not that we would have had conversations this way, with all sorts of small talk and filler; no, this more like speaking with Raven, but completely silent. Raven, for all she claimed she didn't care what we were doing, never did break our little code either, and not for lack of trying. So when I got that look from Tai, I knew that he'd understand my response and the plea hidden beneath.

For as tough as I talk, the reason I couldn't bring myself to take out my frustrations on Jaune was simple: he had beat me. I sat him down in an interrogation table and gave him everything I had, and in the end, he endured it. He didn't just play me, though; he played both sides, and he walked away victorious. It reminds me of something Oz was—technically, _is_ —fond of saying: no one takes on the world alone and wins. Usually, that was meant to summarize why I shouldn't go rogue as often as I do, but here it raised another question: if that statement was true, then how did Jaune do it alone? Sure, he had allies, but the kid was _alone_.

The answer, and the reason I can't bring myself to take any action against him, is that maybe he wasn't alone. Maybe he had something guiding him, or assisting him, or there was _something_ on his side. In a world as crazy as ours, there's no telling. It's probably nothing, but I'm not known for being very lucky, so I decided not to push things.

That's why I'm leaving this group in Tai's hand. If I really wanted it, I could have convinced Jimmy to let me stay and help Tai protect the group, but there were things elsewhere I could be doing, and now I just want some distance between myself and Jaune. These things will sort themselves out.

Until then, I have a very interesting conversation with Oscar to have…

* * *

Present

(Jaune's POV)

"And here's where you guys will be staying." Tai announced as he led the newly-reunited Team JNPR into a room with one bed. "This is Ruby's old room. I would have offered you Yang's, but she wouldn't let me…" He trailed off as his eyes not-so-subtly cut to Ren and Nora. "No clue why, though."

"That's okay, I'm sure this will suit us just fine." Pyrrha responded with her polite smile. As she did so, everyone's eyes scanned the room as we came to the same conclusion: there was only one bed.

"Don't worry, I've still got my old team's travel cots. If Ruby had thought to maybe warn me she was running off, I woulda sent you with them. They're infinitely more comfy than those sleeping packs you guys had!" Taiyang interjected as he noticed every about to raise the same question.

"If not, I'm sure we all know who was first to get the floor." I responded, with only the immense sarcasm in my voice signaling that it was a joke. In all honesty, though, I really would be the first one on the floor, but I felt if I hadn't said it as a joke it may have made the room tense.

It may have made the room tense, regardless, as even Taiyang didn't seem to know how to break the silence. _I still need to avoid being alone in a room with him._

"Well, I'm going to go check on my girls and make sure Yang hasn't killed her new roommates yet. I'll have those cots up here before tonight!" He called out as he headed off to where was obviously _not_ Yang's room. We had already passed that, and Tai walked the other direction. He was probably just hoping we'd come together and beat the shit out of me as a bonding exercise, but failing that, he likely hoped we would at least talk.

"Renny and I get the bed!" Nora called out in her normal innocent voice, but with just enough of a playful grin to give away that she reveled in our immediate reaction.

"Agreed." Came my voice, along with Pyrrha's and even Ren's. Nora only giggled and plopped down on the mattress to test it.

As she did so, everyone began to set down whatever they had carried in with them. For me, that meant setting down Crocea Mors against the wall, with my bag next to it. After a few moments to undo straps, I laid my chest-plate there as well, then proceeded to stare at the sword and sheath combo, allowing my memories of the blade to flash before my eyes as I stared at it distantly.

* * *

 _The first time I saw my father take it out of its display case, where he showed me how it worked at my request, and told me the story of how it had never been sharpened and yet was still as lethal as the day it was forged. He never would tell me of its history, or of who in our family wielded it, but I found out soon enough…_

 _The first time I landed at Beacon, I disembarked a bullhead and found a large statue in the courtyard. In the hand of the hero it depicted, was a perfect recreation of Crocea Mors; it was the ultimate reminder of how, and why, I was here. After a series of difficult conversations with my father, it became apparent that he didn't want me to be a Huntsman, nor did he think I could. He always blamed it on me having no training, and not a lack of potential, and whose fault was my lack of training? Not like a kid could have done that alone._

 _The first time that Crocea Mors didn't look out of place at Beacon, when it lopped off the head of an Ursa. I was never deaf, nor was I blind; I could plainly see that my weapon was outdated and ineffective compared to everyone else's, and I could hear how they plainly said so. But after Forever Fall? Things had finally shifted in my favor. What did it matter how much dust you can use, or how heavy your weapon is, or what it can change into, when in the end the Grimm dies either way?_

 _The first time that I wasn't able to look at this weapon, when we had just arrived in Mistral and no matter what I could do, I couldn't bring myself to look at it where it lay against the wall. If I needed to go out, I would pick it up without ever looking at the metal itself, only keeping it on my hip out of sheer need for a weapon ever since Beacon fell. Just looking at the thing brought back memories of my failure and a reminder of who I couldn't save._

* * *

Those all flash before my eyes every time I look over and see the blade shining before my eyes. But right now, staring at my weapon as it lay against the wall? A new scene played out before me, one much more recent than the others.

* * *

 _Of the many things I expected as I was mandated to say goodbye to anyone not coming to Patch, a hug was the absolute_ last _thing I had prepared myself for, and yet, draped in my arms was Mrs. Nikos. As she squeezed with an intensity that would match a Nora hug, I did my best to return it through my shock and pain-laced surprise; if anything, I had expected her to crack me over the head with a frying pan or a spiked mace, but as I thought about it, she_ did _gain a lot from my actions._

 _My eyes glanced around quickly, and true enough there wasn't anyone else here who wanted to say goodbye to me other than the Nikos's. Not surprising, since most of them are coming to Patch, but it meant that there was no one else here to overhear anything said._

" _For what it's worth…" Mr. Nikos started as he stepped forward, shaking my hand firmly after his wife finally let go. "…we don't think you made bad choices."_

" _Uh… Thank you?" I sputtered out, caught off-guard and uncertain of his meaning._

" _Everyone is going to tell you that you made the wrong choice, or crossed the wrong line. They might be right, but that doesn't mean you didn't make a_ good _choice." Mrs. Nikos clarified, with a genuine joy on her face that I couldn't blame her for._

" _In that, I know we're all in agreeance." Mr. Nikos stated, but never actually checked with me to see if I was in fact in agreeance. I_ was _, but…_

" _How do you know that?" I asked._

 _Mr. Nikos reached down to his waist, and as his hand brought up the weapon strapped there my stomach dropped. I had forgotten about leaving Crocea Mors at his doorstep, but now that weapon was drawn before my own eyes. It had been a silly thing at the time that I thought I needed to do; some step to signify that I knew I didn't deserve my family's blade, and since it already had so much of Pyrrha's metal infused to it, the Nikos's were next in line to get it anyways. It was supposed to be a gesture showing that I understood and even agreed that my actions were wrong; a price paid, so to speak. Or so I thought at the time. It was just something that helped get the weight of my actions off my mind and allowed me to follow through to the end._

" _Someone who has spent their whole career learning to fight with an old family blade is not someone who would ever part with it with no reason. When I came home to find this at my door, I knew then and there what it meant." He sheathed the weapon and turned his gaze to me. "It was an apology, and an admission of wrongdoing. It told me that you knew what you did was wrong, and that you were willing to own up to that, which I appreciated. But you didn't turn_ yourself _in, just the blade that was integral to your identity as a fighter._ That _told me you didn't regret it, even if you knew that it probably wasn't the right thing to do. It also told me that you still had something left to do, otherwise it wouldn't have matter if you_ had _turned yourself in."_

 _He unstrapped the belt that held the sword and sheathe to his waist, and held it out to me, patiently waiting for me to take it._

" _We accept that apology." He said, still waiting for me to take the sword back. My hand started to reach out, but stopped and waited awkwardly as a thought ran across my mind._

" _Then why return the sword?" I asked._

" _Because if you ever let my daughter die again, I'll hunt you down and trade_ you _for her life." Mrs. Nikos interjected, her gaze suddenly rock solid and her sickeningly sweet smile still not wavering._

" _And I want with everything within me to_ avoid that scenario. _" Mr. Nikos said, with a slight cut of his eyes towards his wife. "So you take this sword and go protect my daughter until we can get new armor and weapons for her crafted. Once we do, we'll send them to you, and once Pyrrha is completely back on her feet,_ I don't ever want you to let her to die alone again. _"_

* * *

As that memory finally faded out of my vision, I was brought back to the people in the room, who were stills setting their stuff down. Maybe, if I'm lucky, no one will be brave enough or figure out a way to broach the elephant in the room. _Lucky? I should know better than to rely on Luck._

"Ren, I think you've fallen back to Team JNPR's second-most dedicated boyfriend, and I won't have that!" Nora announced suddenly, with absolutely no prompting.

"Huh?" The boy in question responded.

"Well, it seems to me that only _one_ boyfriend in here has resurrected their lover from the grave. If only you could be so romantic…" Nora's playfulness and comments had turned Pyrrha's cheeks red and Ren just looked confused, but the sly grin Nora shot directly at me told me she knew _exactly_ what she was doing. _Dammit Nora_.

"Oh yeah, speaking of that…" Ren started as he caught Nora's meaning. Ren turned to me with his resolution set plainly on his face. "Do you have anything to say for yourself before we do this?" Ren asked me.

I shook my head no. I had a feeling that anything I said would have made things worse.

Ren stood still, his body still turned so that mostly his back was towards me, though it was at an angle that he could turn his head and see me if he needed to. He looked to the ground and took in a deep breath, and I noticed his hands curled into fists. I watched closely as he stretched his fingers out, trying to release the tension that built there until he forces his hands to relax.

"Do you trust us, Jaune?" Ren's words came out in a slow, calculated manner. That didn't surprise me, considering that Ren is our quietest and most thoughtful member, and he has had plenty of time to think on what he wanted to say. That these were his first words on the subject meant there was certainly weight behind them.

"Yes." I answered simply. I wanted to elaborate, to try to really communicate that to them, but in the end, I felt it would come across as desperate or insincere. _If Ren wants to do this, I'll let him lead it where he will._

"I…struggle to believe you, Jaune." Ren answered softly, still not having turned to look at me yet. His eyes flickered from Nora sitting on the bed, and the wall. Both Nora and Pyrrha watched without even the thought of interjecting, taking on the roles of spectators more than anything. "I don't think it's hard to understand why. We were a team that trusted each other better than most, Jaune, but I always thought we were more than that. I thought we were all close friends who trusted each other, far beyond anything that just a team would do."

"What do you mean?"

"As a team, we trusted each other with our lives. As friends, we trusted each other with everything _in_ our lives."

I scanned the room, and found that while Nora and Pyrrha both didn't object to Ren's statement, their uncomfortable shifting made it clear that they didn't agree.

"Honestly, we were pretty bad at that second part." Pyrrha and Nora guiltily nodded and refused to meet Ren's eyes as he looked to them for clarification. "Pyrrha and Nora both had crushes on teammates, then there was Pyrrha's whole 'maiden' incident…" She had _tried_ to tell me, but it put too much stress on her heart; it's not something I can bring myself to be angry about, but it made a valid point none the less. "And then there's the whole deal with your family, Ren. And for me, there's…" I trailed off. I was going to say how I cheated my way into Beacon, but I _had_ actually told someone on the team about that. _And Cardin…_ "Well, I'm not lacking for examples."

"You list those like they show we aren't close, but each one of those has brought us closer, hasn't it? We worked through them and came out better for it. I thought after our journey to Mistral, that we couldn't get any closer." Ren finally turned to me, locking eyes as he did. "So tell me, Jaune, do you trust us to protect your life _and_ to be a part of it?"

"Yes."

"I believe you mean that right now, Jaune. I really do. But actions, as they say, do speak louder than words, and your actions don't make sense with that answer."

Ren broke eye contact and began pacing around the foot of the bed aimlessly, the distant look in his eyes confirming that he was deep in thought. No one else moved; Nora stayed seated on the bed, though her eyes followed Ren, Pyrrha remained standing in the doorway, and I stood where I had set my things down still.

"Why didn't you tell us, Jaune? Why not bring us along, or have us run interference, or at least _not_ want to murder you in the street?" His eyes, for a split second, cut to Nora. She looked guilty, but more of a 'hand caught in the cookie jar' sort of guilt.

"I wanted to protect you."

"Good answer, but I don't believe you." Ren looked up to lock eyes once again. "Try again."

"There wasn't anything you could do."

"Not good enough, Jaune."

I couldn't come up with another answer to give him. Once he started shooting down my excuses, I had to really think hard about my answers before I gave them, and that lead to me being unable to actually give any. With a sigh, Ren tried to change tactics.

"You made a deal with the devil, and then put all your faith in double-crossing the devil with the implicit trust of a criminal, Jaune. Why go to them but not us?!"

"Neo was my best option! I didn't really have a choice!"

"But you _did_ have the choice of whether to tell us, Jaune, and you chose not to! Why?! Why choose to blindly trust Neo and intentionally blindside us?!"

"Because I needed Neo! I needed her connections and her resources! I was going up against the woman who terrifies Cinder and I couldn't afford any dead weight or missteps. Neo had been planning this much longer than I had, and already had most the work done."

"Is that all we are to you, Jaune? Dead weight?" Ren's question cut deep, but in the silence following a more important question was raised, but not by Ren.

" _Don't you need us_?" Nora asked in a fragile voice.

"I…of course I do, Nora." I answered ashamed, barely even believing myself.

"How can we trust you, when you don't trust us, Jaune? How do we reform Team Juniper when our leader goes off on wild crusades to save one of our very own _without his team_? If you don't need us, where do we go from here?" Ren asked, taking a few steps towards me.

I had no answers.

"How do I put my life in your hands when you would rather bet it on impossibly long odds on the off-chance that you get lucky?"

"Luck had _nothing_ to do with it." I answered with venom in my voice. Now it was my turn for my fists to clench.

"Jaune, the story General Ironwood told us was one of the most ridiculous things I had ever heard in my life, and I've spent most of it with _Nora_. Either you are the luckiest man alive, or _someone_ upstairs really likes you." Ren's words were meant to be in jest, but I couldn't help myself. He hit the one vulnerability I still had.

"You know what, screw all of this! If you want to decide that I'm a horrible person, then do it! If you want to say that I don't care about you, then go ahead. There's plenty of evidence for you to choose. You can say I don't care, or that I'm an idiot, or anything! Do whatever you need to cope, but don't you dare take this from me, Ren! _I_ am the one who did this! _ME_! There was no 'invisible hand' guiding me, no conspiracy, no 'getting lucky.' Not for something this big. There is no Fate, no Destiny, and no Luck, and they certainly aren't on my side. Do whatever the fuck you think is right and I'll respect it, but don't try to cheapen what _I_ did or deflect it off onto Fate or circumstance. _I_ betrayed your trust. _I_ made that deal with Salem. _I_ killed those Atlas personnel. _I_ shot Ruby. _I_ brought Pyrrha back, and _I_ would do it again."

All things considered, I did a good job of not starting a fight, although I did press forward until I was mere inches away from Ren. Nora and Pyrrha had both flinched at my aggression and had both started moving to intervene if Ren and I came to blows, but I backed away as my tirade finished.

"I can't wait to see what you decide to do now…" I called back angrily as I marched out the doorway, taking a left and marching outside. It didn't take me long to find the person I had in mind. I was wound up way to far, and there was one easy way to fix that: get the shit beat out of me.

Yang was outside playing fetch with Zwei, and she noticed me approaching out of the corner of her eye.

"YANG! You wanna fight?!" I called out as I approached.

"What, like a spar?" She called back confused, but with obvious enthusiasm in her voice.

"No, right here, right now. Boxing or MMA or whatever. Something violent and painful, preferably."

A wicked grin shot across Yang's face.

" _Hell. Yes._ "


	19. Fortune Favors the Bold

**Author's Note: S** **omehow this one chapter ended up having two of the interactions you guys have been most anxious about. A good author would say that was planned. That being said...**

* * *

Present

(Pyrrha's POV)

"I thought _we_ were the ones that were supposed to get mad." Nora was clearly confused as she sat back down on the bed. Ren hadn't moved yet, eyes still locked on the door that Jaune had just stormed out of; he mostly looked lost in thought, but the crease of his brow belied that he was also confused with what had just happened.

That isn't to say that I'm not confused too, but rather I am too intrigued to be hung up on my curiosity. After all, if there is any subject that I am no stranger to being touchy around, it's that of Fate, Destiny, and by extension, Luck.

"Where do we go from here?" I asked idly, hoping that someone had an idea or even the courage to say anything.

"I…I don't know. I'll be honest in that I didn't expect _him_ to be the angry one." Ren answered.

"Are you _sure_ that any of us even _have_ to be angry?" Nora asked from over Ren's shoulder. Her pleading tone and Ren's subsequent glare led me to believe that Nora was willing to overlook anything to get the team back together now. _That's not surprising, since Nora is probably only upset that she didn't get to join a battle; what is surprising is that Ren_ does _appear to harbor a grudge._

"We've been over this, Nora. Jaune turned his back on us. We can't just forgive him of that for no reason."

Nora's eyes went wide and she looked over at me, then back to Ren, then back to me.

"I…I didn't mean it like that, Nora!" Ren backtracked quickly. "Pyrrha, I'm sorry for anything you heard earlier. Whatever I say about or to Jaune, I want you to know that I don't hold anything against you; nothing about this is your fault." Ren clarified, much to the relief of Nora.

I couldn't meet his gaze, guilt having washed back over me. It's hard to take offence to anything or assign anyone blame when it was your mistake that started all of this in the first place.

"Maybe…some of it is." I responded sheepishly. "I mean…I _was_ the one to force my partner to abandon me. My death was _my_ fault. If bringing me back caused so many problems, why shouldn't I get any blame for them too?"

Ren and Nora didn't answer immediately and instead mulled over my words. _I can see_ why _Jaune seems to hate the idea of Fate, since it was my misguided faith in it that led me to push Jaune away._ Even if I hated the idea of Fate, that doesn't make it any easier for me to deny its existence…or that it favors Salem.

"You…that was different, Pyrrha. There was the chaos from the attack, and you thought you were doing the right thing." Ren stated unconvincingly, if Nora's face was anything to go by.

"And Jaune didn't?" I countered.

Ren began to open his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. If he had argued that Jaune did _not_ do the right thing, he was saying it was wrong to save me. More and more, it seems as if there _is_ no right answer: is Jaune a hero or a villain, do I fight Fate or side with Salem, should Ren welcome us back or is he right to hold out? I would settle for an answer to one of those.

"It's not that he didn't do the right thing, it's how he did it. You can do a good thing the wrong way and come out worse than you started." Ren answered more carefully, though still not confidently.

"Are we worse off?" Nora asked as she wormed her arms around his waist, subtly pulling him to sit down on the bed with her. "I mean, we captured, like, _a ton_ of bad guys, Jaune somehow convinced a psychotic mob boss to work with the good guys, and we resurrected Pyrrha. How bad does it have to be for _that_ not to matter?"

Ren fidgeted his fingers and opened his mouth to speak multiple times, but never uttered a word before closing it each time.

"I'm not saying that you have to forgive him immediately, or…even ever. But if we can get _our_ Jaune back, could we officially reform Team JNPR?" I asked.

"I…I don't…" Ren struggled to find words, before collecting his breath into a sigh. "If we can get Jaune to talk to us and work through it, then yes, I won't get in the way."

The next two noises heard from the room, in order, were a squeal from Nora and a squeak from Ren as she tightened her grip into one of her death hugs.

"I'm going to try to talk to Jaune, then. I think…well, it's time that we stopped avoiding this." I called out as I headed out the room, following the path Jaune had taken earlier. "I would hope that after all he's done for me, Jaune feels like he could trust me with whatever is bothering him." I whispered that last part to myself.

It didn't take me long to figure out where Jaune had gone. As I walked into what was the living room, I found quite the unusual spectacle. Seated comfortably around the TV were Ruby, Taiyang, and Weiss, with Neo sitting on a stool in the window, holding a scroll that had a long cable running from it to the TV. Apparently, the TV was playing the feed from the scroll's camera, and Neo had the scroll pointed outside where Yang and Jaune were having spar. _Well, a spar sounds much more organized than this; really, Jaune and Yang appeared to be fighting MMA style or just attacking each other without weapons._

What was really unsettling was how everyone cheered whenever Yang landed hard blows on Jaune, which did not happen infrequently. Taiyang, in particular, was vocal with his cheers, and even Weiss was getting into it on a couple occasions. Ruby, while she did look somewhat uncomfortable with her father and partner cheering on the utter dismantling Jaune was receiving, still bore a small smile. Neo just reveled in the violence, I think

With a roll of my eyes, I walked past them and out the door, though taking care to be quiet enough not to distract the fighters (or spectators.) Jaune was flat on his back, and instead of pummeling while he was down, Yang was taunting him to get back up. I had a feeling this had happened many times already, but Jaune pushed himself up and readied himself for another go.

Laid out on the grass nearby were two scrolls, presumably Jaune and Yang's. I walked forward and picked them up, checking the first one for aura levels. It was Yang's scroll, and her aura was at a solid 88%. _I'd bet most of that was just damage to her fists as they impacted Jaune._ It didn't surprise me that she still had the majority of her aura. After all, they were both unarmed, sparring solely for the purpose of beating the other up. Neither of them had an active semblance to take chunks out of the other's aura with, and without weapons damage would come much slower. To top that off, Yang lives for close-quarters combat, whereas Jaune relies on his shield and the reach of his sword. Yang's aura was still in the green.

I checked the other scroll and did indeed find it to be Jaune's. The aura meter was at 27%, and dropping steadily as Yang pummeled Jaune.

As I closely examined the fight for the first time, the first thing I did was check Yang's eyes. I honestly expected them to constantly burn red after the stories I had heard about Yang literally simmering in the observation room, but I only saw lilac surrounding her pupils. However, her intense focus and angry brow illustrated that her fury was still there, but she was channeling it, which is arguably just as dangerous as having Yang blow up on you.

I made a mental note to keep an eye on the fight, and be ready to intervene when aura cracked, because it was obvious that was Yang's goal. _If not more..._

Yang continued her endless assault, taking great care to knock Jaune around but never off of his feet; she wanted him to stand there and fight back, so it felt all the better each time he took a blow. It was a sadistic strategy—not one that hadn't ever crossed my mind in my own fights, though I rarely would employ it—that only worked when you had supreme confidence that your opponent posed no threat. In hand-to-hand combat, _I_ barely posed a threat to Yang, though with the addition of a shiny _metal_ arm? Things could be different. Jaune had no such advantages, seeing as Yang was faster and stronger than him, at least where it counts for a fistfight. Jaune might be able to withstand any blow to his shield, but that speak to more core and leg strength, whereas Yang's power flowed directly from her legs, through her hips, into her fists, and onto Jaune's face.

To top it all off, Jaune _had_ to go mess with Yang's baby sister, which ensured him the most painful beatdown possible. The primal grin on Yang's face as she landed blows on the softer spots of Jaune's body only confirmed that.

Yang's right shoulder slammed into Jaune's chest, forcing him back a few steps, and Jaune immediately backed further away, hoping it was his chance to make space and catch his breath. Yang saw this and launched herself forward in the air in a move that clearly was designed for her normal, armed combat style. One arm even punched the air behind her, subconsciously reverting to how she would power herself forward with a blast from her gauntlet. However, without the added speed from that blast, Jaune was left with enough time to react to her advance. With Yang in midair and unable to readjust herself, Jaune planted off his back foot and slammed his shoulder forward, catching Yang in her chest as her blow took too long to arrive. With the complete reversal in momentum crashing into her, Yang let out a loud OOMPH, and the impact nearly knocked Jaune over as well.

Yang was knocked backwards and flew onto her back with a loud thud. Jaune made no move to press his advantage—smart, considering now she might actually activate her semblance—and waited for Yang to get back up, as she had been doing to him. Out of curiosity, I checked Yang's scroll again for her aura level. It had gone down 8% in one blow.

"I'll admit, that _hurt_!" Yang called out from her back as she shook her head to orientate herself. Yang climbed back to her feet and reevaluated her opponent. " _Lucky shot._ It won't happen again."

Yang didn't know it, but she had just insured that Jaune was going to give their next engagement every bit of ferocity and anger he had left. Jaune's hands clinched into fists, and I saw his chest rise as he tried to dissipate his anger. Judging from how his jaw set—not to mention what I can only describe as the murder in his eyes—it didn't work.

Yang approached Jaune and opened up with a light left jab that Jaune leaned back to avoid. As Jaune brought his torso back in, Yang tried to meet him there with right hook but aimed high, allowing Jaune to dunk underneath it and land a light jab with his left hand on Yang's stomach as he popped back up. As he did so, Yang powered through the blow and unleashed a powerful jab straight at Jaune with her left. For as angry that Jaune was, he still could rationalize that he didn't stand a chance if he let this fight continue in such close quarters, so he let Yang's jab go past his torso as he dodged to the right of it. Instead of countering, he grabbed Yang's outstretched arm and yanked it, pulling himself to spin around her back; to finish the move, Jaune dug his elbow into Yang's back as he shoved off to create more space.

Yang didn't let him get away, and stepped into a powerful right hook to bring the fight back into close quarters as soon as she caught herself. Instead of avoiding the blow, Jaune stepped into and took it on his left shoulder far before Yang could get any real velocity behind the blow. At the same time Yang's that metal hand half-heartedly crashed into Jaune's shoulder, all of Jaune's momentum was thrown into an uppercut with his right hand that crashed right into Yang's diaphragm.

"I!"

To her credit, Yang did not barrel over and stagger after such a devastating hit, but she did keel over in shock just enough for Jaune to take advantage.

"MAKE!"

Jaune reached out with his arms, and for a split second I feared for his life as I thought he was actually going to grab Yang by her hair, but his hands settled for gripping her shoulders.

"MY!"

He yanked them down and brought his knee up, causing it to bash Yang's face.

"OWN!"

Yang staggered backwards and Jaune pressed, throwing a left jab into her kidney to distract Yang from his next blow, where he reared back for a powerful right hook but stepped into the blow and delivered his elbow across Yang's face with enough force to make me wince.

"DAMN!"

Yang was unable to keep her balance any longer, and staggered backwards a few more feet before clumsily dropping down to one knee, with her arms also shooting out to grasp the ground for stability.

"LUCK!"

Jaune screamed as he launched himself at Yang, just how she had tried to do earlier, but Yang made no move to knock Jaune out of the air like he had to her.

A loud thud was heard as Yang's hand shot up and caught Jaune's fist, all the momentum behind Jaune's leap be damned. Red eyes framed by flames pierced deep into Jaune's eyes as time frozen for a moment.

" _Shit._ "

Yang yanked Jaune down into her oncoming knee, which caught him in the stomach. As Jaune bounced off of Yang's knee, she caught him by the collar and flipped him over her, slamming his back into the ground, followed by a haymaker from Yang's left that broke through Jaune's clumsy guard and caught him right between the eyes. With Jaune too dazed to fight back, Yang pinned him to the ground with her legs and began beating the shit out of him, schoolyard style.

I kept a nervous watch on Jaune's aura, and when it hit 5% I figured it was best to stop the fight. He would need some aura to begin healing any bruising or haziness from this fight, and that's only if he stays conscious through Yang's pummeling. _Does aura help prevent or heal concussions?_

I reached out with my semblance and caught Yang's metal arm, keeping it from launching her next attack. With her rhythm broken, it took Yang no time at all to snap out of her semblance and realize that Jaune wasn't fighting back. Yang began to get up off of Jaune, but decided to leave him one more for the road. Yang allowed herself to fall backwards onto Jaune, leading with her elbow in a classic wrestling move, the only difference being that this wasn't fake.

Finally responsive, Jaune doubled over in pain as Yang knocked the wind out of him one last time, and he rolled over on his knees, clutching his stomach. His aura held solid at just barely 1%.

"I've got to admit, that was a smart move, letting me beat the crap out of you to soften me up." Yang called out as she watched Jaune retch in pain. "I certainly feel less inclined to kill you now."

"This wasn't for you." Jaune called back, or rather grunted. "This was for me."

"Huh?" Yang responded confused.

"He means he'd rather get demolished than have a conversation with his team." I announced playfully as I walked forward, handing Yang her scroll. "Or even think about it."

"She knows me so well." Jaune mocked back, having barely fought his way up onto one knee now.

"That's funny; here I thought that _not thinking_ was Jaune's specialty." Yang added, taking a dig at Jaune.

"No, he proved that he _can_ think when he grabbed your shoulders and not your hair..." I countered.

"Yeah, I have a death wish. That would have insured that Yang kept me alive to torture me..."

"WHOA!" Yang called out as two objects were thrown—okay, lightly tossed—at her. Still on edge from her fight and the adrenaline pumping through her veins, Yang overreacted but caught the objects nonetheless; they turned out to be the two gauntlets of Ember Celica, Neo having tossed them to her.

"Um…thanks?" Yang called out, prompting a sly look from Neo. "Jaune, your midget assassin person is looking at me funny."

Despite not having his breath back yet, Jaune found the strength to chuckle. "That's probably because she wants to spar."

Yang slid her gauntlets on and checked her aura, which had just slipped into the yellow but was still good enough for a short spar. "As long as she knows I'm not at full strength and she _isn't_ trying to kill me, then sure." Though it was phrased as a joke, it really was more of a plea. "She _isn't_ trying to kill me, is she?"

"It was nice knowing you. Sort of." Jaune called back with another chuckle.

"Can't say the feeling's mutual." Yang taunted back.

"Really? It looked like you enjoyed trying to end my life back there."

"Sometimes the best way to improve the world, is to leave it." Yang called back playfully, or at least, I thought it was playful.

Yang's flippant approach to everything and Jaune's morbid sense of self-depreciating humor combined for one terrifying taunting session, and it wasn't one I was comfortable with in the slightest.

" _Guys_ …" I interrupted. "Jaune, I think we should leave them to it. We…have some things to discuss. Privately."

"Well…" Jaune announced as he finally stood up. "That means this is either going to be the best part of my day, or the worse part." Yang sniggered and Neo rolled her eyes. I made Jaune march on, away from prying eyes.

It wasn't until we were on the other side of the house that I realized what he meant. I gave him a solid slug in the shoulder for it.

We walked off into the woods, not going far enough to get into trouble or even lose sight of the house, but far enough that no one would overhear anything. The trees made a serene backdrop and provided enough shade to keep us comfortable, but that was likely the only comfort here for us.

As I stood there, trying to figure out _how on Remnant do I broach this topic_ , I was cut off by what I assumed would be Jaune's stalling tactics.

"Do you believe in Destiny?" Jaune asked pointedly. My breathing hitched and my stomach flopped, the question being both my greatest quandary and largest fear.

"I…I…" I stammered. Jaune patiently awaited my answer, as if it didn't matter how long this took; he at least looked dedicated to getting through this now. "I…think so. There is still so much I don't understand or just…can't come to terms with. But…I do believe in _something_."

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out that that question helped drive you to face Cinder, and once we found out about the Maidens and all the other details, it was only logical that I had to confront the same question. Do you know what I finally decided?"

"Considering your… _touchy-ness_ recently when certain words are said, I'm going to guess you decided against it." I answered, taking care not to come across as snarky or sarcastic. I was trying to be cautious, and if I was wrong, then I wanted it to be clear how I got there, at least.

"I rejected the idea that Fate's hand was at work because I hated it. How you could believe in it when it led to so much death at Beacon? I told myself that no mysterious power worth believing in would condemn you to die so that someone evil could become more powerful, and I did everything I could to take matters into my own hands." Jaune answered, averting my gaze by staring at the ground. "So, I did. I let Mercury and Neo go, I made a deal with Salem, I killed people during the attack, all because I was the only one who could…or would. But do you know what?"

I only answered with silence, patiently waiting for him to continue. This wasn't the sort of question you were supposed to guess at.

"Deep down, I knew it was true. I wasn't doing it all because I believed I was free to do so. As much as I avoided acknowledging it, I knew that Fate was real. I was doing everything in my power to spite Fate; I wanted nothing more than to stand before the universe and just flip it off. If Fate wanted to take you, then I would do anything possible to undermine that.

"And…it worked. To my surprise more than anyone's, I stood against the will of the universe, and I won." There was a pride to his voice, but also a sourness that led me to believe that it didn't end there.

Jaune's silence after that showed that he did not intend to continue, at least not yet. I could tell there was something missing, some final piece that would make this all fit, but he didn't seem willing to tell me just yet. _That's fine, he's trusted me with a lot so far; it's my turn to return the favor._

"Do you know why I left you to fight Cinder?" I asked, hoping he would give an answer. I wasn't looking for him to give the right answer, actually the opposite: I wanted to know how far off he is.

"You figured it was your Destiny to go up there and fight Cinder." Jaune answered plainly after a long sigh. _He's not far off, but that's a simplified answer._

"Close. I have _always_ believed I was meant to be something more, whether that was a heroic Huntress or the defender of my home or the savior of Remnant, I always knew that Fate had something special in store for me, and I never stopped working to be strong enough to achieve it. I didn't go there to fight Cinder just because I believed Fate wanted me to win; I went there because it was the reason I existed."

"Well, hindsight is 20/20…"

"Actually, hindsight is…harder for me. If I existed because Fate had high stakes on that fight, what does it mean that Cinder won?"

"It would mean that Fate supports Cinder, and by extension, Salem." He answered after a pause. "I've thought of that before, Pyrrha. It's actually one of the biggest reasons I rejected the idea of Fate for so long, because it didn't matter to me if it existed if it only served the enemy. I dedicated myself to fighting Fate itself, and that would mean fighting the same enemy I already was."

"But you didn't spend your whole life believing you were Fate's vassal! I can't just bring myself to fight against it, no matter how wrong Salem feels to me. Do you think I _like_ saying that the murderous bitch who enjoyed killing me is Fate's chosen one?" My pulse started to pick up, and I had to calm myself down before I could continue. "I spent my whole life trying to serve Fate, because it was the right thing to do. But now, Fate and the right thing are opposites, and I can't bring myself to pick either side."

I turned my back on Jaune, not trusting myself to keep my composer if I made eye contact with him. I was already on the edge of losing it, with my nerves frayed and a swell of emotions threatening to burst forth.

"Salem knew this would happen, didn't she?" Jaune asked quietly to no one in particular. "That's why she let you go so easily, because she knew you were neither an ally nor an enemy."

I fought back a sniffle and tried as hard as I could to compose myself. With nothing left to say for myself and no other defenses to offer, I simply stood there with my back towards Jaune, trying not to break down. It wasn't what Jaune had said that got to me, but it was what he graciously left unsaid: she let me go because I was no good to anyone anymore, and it would hurt my friends to see me like this. _And there isn't anything in my power to change it._

"The reason…" Jaune called out a little louder, as if trying to fill the silence in an attempt to comfort (or distract) me. "…that I'm so angry whenever people accuse me of being lucky, or having someone on my side, is because I don't think they're wrong."

My confused response was more of a whimper or a hum than actual words, but Jaune understood the intent.

"Dr. Watts…he believes that I have a passive semblance…of luck."

"Luck?" I asked quietly, immensely proud that my voice didn't crack from the tears I had been choking back.

"He thinks that my semblance is my ability to achieve great things with the help of greater coincidences, that I really do make my own luck."

"Why…does that bother you? Everyone uses their semblance; it doesn't take away from what you did."

"Do you remember why I did those things, aside from getting you back?"

I nodded in response. It was to defy Fate. He had made that very clear.

"I really thought I achieved that, that Jaune Arc had stood against Fate itself and won. I was ecstatic, not to mention shocked beyond belief. I was so proud that, in the ultimate reversal, _I_ was the one who dictated how the world would be. _I_ had the strength to fix what I let break." Jaune took a deep breath, and I could feel his eyes on me as he continued. "But...if my semblance is to have luck arrange improbable events in my favor for a specific goal to be achieve, Pyrrha, w _hat does that sound like_?"

I gasped, his analogy hitting me just as it was intended to. I turned around to meet his pained eyes with my own wide eyes.

"It sounds like…"

" _Fate._ It sounds like my own _fucking semblance_ is Fate!" He roared angrily. It wasn't at me, but I flinched nonetheless. "It sounds like I finally found a sense of purpose and I risked everything I had left for it, and I was a puppet on a strong the whole time! How am I supposed to live with myself knowing that my greatest achievement-changing Destiny-was actually orchestrated by Fate the whole time!?"

" _Jaune…_ " I called out in an attempt to soothe him, to no avail.

"I'm sure there are probably perks to this whole thing, like I mean it is probably awesome to have Fate literally on your side, but _dammit_ how am I supposed to stop Fate if _I_ am its agent!?"

A thought crossed my mind, and despite Jaune's rage, I couldn't help but smile at it. My whole problem is that Fate abandoned me, or maybe it just never was with me in the first place. It clearly was with Cinder, but even in Fate favors her, that's not a path I can follow. My stalemate, the weight bearing down on my soul, breaks down into my inability to follow Fate's chosen. But now, standing in front of me is the boy I loved at Beacon, my partner who I trust with my life, who also has Fate's blessing. And he used that blessing to bring me back from death. _What bigger sign do I need?_

Salem is not someone I could serve. I could never trust her with my life and I could never have faith that she was doing the right thing. But the boy standing in front of me, who I have more than sufficient reason to trust with everything I am, who might just be the Hand of Fate itself? Well, he's someone I could fight for, and follow anywhere. Even back to the grave.


	20. All Tai-ed Up

**Author's Note:** **I have discovered that writing lines for Taiyang is the easiest thing in the world, because all I have to do is image the lines in Burnie's voice and they just flow right out. I felt like I was writing a Rooster Teeth Podcast fanfic more than a RWBY fic for a little while.**

* * *

Present

(Winter's POV)

"Oh, look who decided to show up." Qrow mocked as I walked forward and took a seat.

Normally, that voice would already have made my blood-pressure spike, but after several stressful days, I had made a focused effort to be more relaxed. This may be pushing it, however.

"Apologies, when I heard 'clandestine meeting,' I guess I wasn't expecting a bar, or a particularly run-down bar." I shot Qrow a look. "Then again, I don't know _where_ I would get such high expectations from."

A meeting hidden beneath the guise of a social call normally works; we are at a bar but in a private room, we all have some familiarity with each other so no one would ask many questions, and one of us is known for drinking. On the surface, it all fits, which is why it was easy to agree on. As long as we _did_ technically socialize some, then we could easily avoid how we are about to discuss matters of security, strategy, and that damn Arc boy.

"At ease, Winter." General Ironwood called out from his seat with a sigh. He slid a drink they had already ordered to me; it appeared to be some fruity drink with an umbrella.

"We don't know what you drink, so I just ordered you what my niece likes: strawberry sunrise." Qrow explained as he refilled his shot glass with the bottle of whiskey sitting on the table. From what I know, Qrow isn't a whiskey sort of drinker, but Ironwood is, even going as far as to sneak a bottle of the expensive stuff into his office for 'important' visitors. Chances are, Qrow just didn't turn down anything with alcohol in it.

"What your _niece_ likes? Isn't she _15_?!"

"I didn't say my _favorite_ niece; my sister's kid."

"Oh, yes, because 17 is _so much_ better." I countered as I took a sip of the drink. His niece didn't have bad taste, however.

"Mistral and Vale aren't nearly as strict with alcohol laws—or their enforcement—as Atlas, and I don't really think Vacuo _has_ alcohol laws." The fourth and final person at the table added. I recognized the man from multiple briefings I attended with Mistral's heads of defense and military, not to mention his presence during the entire 'Jaune Interrogation' affair. "And barkeeps are pretty lenient with Huntsmen and Huntresses anyways. I wouldn't be surprised if little Ruby could get away with ordering a drink here."

"Good to meet you again, Mr. Nikos." I acknowledged, seeing as my familiarity to the other two seated at the table did not extend to the last member. He nodded in acknowledgement.

"And they are especially lenient if you have a real Huntsman drinking with them, aren't they?" Qrow asked Mr. Nikos pointedly.

"Yeah, yeah, that wasn't my best move ever. Next time I come across a young Huntsman trying to drown his sorrows alone, I'll let them." He responded with a small roll of his eyes. No one at the table believed him, though, not even himself; it was just a bad lie.

"You know, that _did_ set Jaune down his path. If it wasn't for you drinking with him, he wouldn't have ended up going rogue." Ironwood mused, although his tone indicated that he wasn't really assigning any blame. It was more of just a hypothetical, or an observation.

"Well hey, I'll drink to that." Qrow joked while holding out his glass. "Cheers to you causing the biggest non-alcohol-related headache I've ever had!"

Despite the jesting nature of the toast, we all raised our drinks in return, clinking them as normal people might. I took a large sip of mine, while the three men all proceed to empty their glasses.

"I still can't believe that little punk gave us the runaround." Qrow mumbled to me after finishing his drink. "I've gotten the better of people with a lot more experience in espionage that Jaune, and you make grown men cry." Qrow tried to mumble 'with your personality' afterwards, but failed at being subtle.

"I will admit, watching the feeds from Interrogation was really entertaining." Ironwood interjected with a grin on his face.

"Of course you could access them. What hadn't they planned?"

"I'm sure they didn't plan on attacking both Hazel _and_ Watts." Mr. Nikos answered, to a nod from Ironwood.

"Okay, so they had a decent plan and worlds of luck. Ozpin won't ever let me live this one down…" Qrow grumbled.

"How is the Headmaster? I assume he's secure?" I asked.

Both Qrow and Ironwood nodded, though neither of them would answer expand on that answer. It was probably for the better.

"So why did we send them all to Patch? I assume it wasn't _solely_ for their protection." Mr. Nikos asked. Qrow snickered in response and Ironwood rolled his eyes and leaned back.

"Do you think Tai has beat the shit out of him yet?" Qrow asked Ironwood, ignoring Mr. Nikos.

"No, my money is on psychological torture…" Ironwood responded coyly.

"Psychological…torture?" Mr. Nikos asked hesitantly.

"Oh, yes, of the worst variety…" Ironwood embellished.

" _Puns._ "

* * *

Present

(Jaune's POV)

"Going somewhere, Jaune?" Taiyang's voice startled me from behind. I whipped around to face him as quick as I could.

"Me? No, not really. I just needed to think." I answered truthfully enough. My talk with Pyrrha had gone…well, it had gone, at least. Sure, it does feel better to let it out—and I'm sure I don't have to worry about Pyrrha betraying my trust, all things considered—but that doesn't mean it goes away. Some parts of it still eat at me, and no amount of talking through it will help; not until I get a chance to think through it, first.

"Yeah, I've had a lot of time to do that myself." He paused and stared me down, making no attempt at being subtle. "Has Ruby ever told you about the time I killed someone?"

I froze, my eyes going wide as I tried to process what he said. His tone of voice sounded so casual that I didn't register it as a threat until I processed the words. I had to force my hands _not_ to reach for the blade at my hip; I would never get it up in time if he took it as an act of aggression, and I had recently checked my aura to find it still in the single digits. In this moment, I was completely subordinate to whatever Taiyang was about to do and I'm certain that's why he cornered me now. We're even standing on his front porch, out of sight of every else, who are either watched spars or sparring themselves.

"Oh gosh, look at yourself, kid! I've never seen someone go that pale so quickly! I haven't actually killed anyone; I just have this story I tell Ruby about why Yang's first crush disappeared."

I let out the breath I had been holding, and forced myself to relax. _You know, Ruby and Yang always talked about their dad being like this, but_ that _was a little ridiculous_.

"Although he really did go missing."

"Is there a point to this?" I tried to ignore whatever game he was playing with me, mostly because I really can't tell if he's joking or not.

"Well, clearly I'm trying to see whether or not my kill count needs to go up, but if you're gonna be so rude about it then I guess it's settled…" There was a hint of anger and frustration in his voice, but it sounded put on, like it was for show. I cut my eyes at him unamused, hoping to dust that I was correct in calling his bluff and not taunting my murder.

"Sheesh, did Ozpin teach all you Beacon kids how to _not_ have fun?"

"No, that was Professor Goodwitch." I answered.

"Goodwitch…? Oh, _Glynda_? HA! I can see it; she never could take a joke! Then again, Qrow showing up to her lab course drunk may not be the best metric for her sense of humor…"

"I don't think she has one."

"Oh no, she does. _That_ much I know for sure…" Tai trailed off suspiciously, but I _really_ didn't feel like pressing. Either he'd get angry at the attempt, which is bad for me, or he might tell me what he was implying, which is _really_ bad for me.

"Look, I'll make this quick. You reminded me a lot of myself after Summer died, so I always liked you, kid. Then you went and shot my daughter, and _really_ tested the limits of how far I would travel to kill someone who hurt Ruby—turns out, it just didn't quite reach Mistral. Who knew?—and to top that all of, Qrow wraps you up in a nice bow and ships you to my house! Needless to say, I haven't had enough time to decide what to do with you."

I stayed quiet and did my best to look at anything in the room other than Taiyang. It wasn't easy.

"But, at the insistence of Ruby and Yang, I have sworn that I will _not_ hurt you without both of their express approval. I currently only have Ruby's."

"Wait, what? You have _Ruby's_?"

"Well, what she said was 'don't actually hurt him' which implies that I'm allow to do superficial things. Yang I think just wants to beat the piss out of you herself."

"Seriously though, I know you had your reasons and you helped Ironwood capture people and yada yada yada, but the next time you're creating some master plan, just remember that I taught Yang how to punch, and I know how to fit a grapefruit through a water hose…"

"Grapefruit through a water ho—UGH!" I clenched as I imaged the scene described and realized what it really meant. The threat was clear and unmistakable.

"Out of curiosity, what would have been worse for me, shooting Ruby or if I had asked her out?" I asked, knowing that I was pushing my luck.

"Well, you're still breathing, right?" I nodded. "Then shooting her. At least you haven't gone missing…"

Taiyang walked off, but not before giving the classic "eyes on you" hand gesture.

" _Yet._ "

With Taiyang gone, I turned back around to face the tree line that I had just been in with Pyrrha. I took a deep breath, and as I released it, I tried to release any extra tension I still held.

"Fate…" I whispered quietly to myself. "Why am I not surprised? I always thought that I had bad luck, and now my semblance is the unluckiest way to have good luck."

 _How do I know that it even_ is _my semblance?_ Surely, Fate can do whatever it wants whenever it wants. Neither Cinder nor Pyrrha had any connection to Fate through their semblance, but it still chose its winner. Maybe Fate has just smiled on me—or rather, flipped me off—and my semblance is yet to be found. I mean, it isn't as if I have always had this 'good' luck. In fact, I usually would consider myself pretty unlucky, especially before Beacon. If Fate isn't connected to my semblance, then why would that change once I got there? The only thing really different is that I had my aura unlocked, and aura…

 _Oh._

Aura powers semblances. If Fate is my semblance, then it wouldn't have activated without my semblance. But does that mean that if I run out of aura, I lose Fate? If someone breaks my aura, they will have effectively defied Fate the same way I wanted to. But surely Fate wouldn't let things get that far if I still mattered to its plans; it would interfere or empower me long before it lost so easily.

 _That means the only way I can die is if Fate is finished with me._ There are two implications of that thought that send chills down my spine: I can't escape Fate until I die, and I am disposable enough that Fate can just abandon me when I need it if it is finished with me. A unwilling vassal with no means of fighting back, who also comes with an easy kill switch when it's no longer needed.

"Okay, I said I was leaving, but I'm not finished yet." Taiyang's voice appeared from behind my shoulder. The sudden voice just behind me combined with what I was thinking on combined to make me jump much higher than I care to admit, and on top of that I did not stick the landing and nearly fell over afterwards. "Jeez, how'd you ever infiltrate an Atlas ship if you're that jumpy?"

"It helps when no one sees you as a threat." I answered while trying to catch my breath. "It lets you get the first shots off."

Tai's eyes narrowed at my meaning, but he didn't rile. "Well listen, I came back because there's one more thing you need to tell me."

"And what would that be?"

"What happens next?" Tai stated flatly.

"What do you mean?"

"What's your next move, your next target, your next mission? There's a lot of young, talented Huntsmen and Huntress in my house and they all don't have a clue what to do next. For as much as they may hate you right now, they hate you because you took action. Whatever move you make next, they may follow because they don't know what else to do."

"And you want to know what that is so Ruby doesn't go with me?"

"I want to know whether or not you're still fighting for the right side, and if you are, I'll let you leave to go do it."

Tai's words hung in the air. General Ironwood had ordered that Pyrrha and I stay put for at least two weeks, and Neo was supposed to stay with us. We haven't been here a full day, and Taiyang was already willing to just let me walk? _Why_?

"Why would you risk that?" I asked.

"Maybe I think you can do some good still, and you owe it to us to work for redemption, or maybe I really hate you and want you to die in the field, or maybe I just don't like the guy who shot my little girl sleeping in my house. Maybe I want to see a young blond punk stick with his team when times get tough, for once. Maybe I just want to pocket the lien and food that General Ironwood sent for your supplies." Tai answered, leaving me to believe that all those reasons maybe weren't wrong, to varying degrees. "You pick your reason; it doesn't matter. What _does_ matter is what you do next."

"I hadn't thought that far ahead. I'm not even sure I can convince Team JNPR to come back together."

"Then don't. If you left right now to fight a crusade, who would go with you and what would you do?" Tai asked more pointedly.

 _If I left right now_? Well, I'm certain that Pyrrha would come with me, whether out of her own interests or guilt, or maybe some form of repayment for saving her. She did say that she chose Fate over me, and after our last talk, I think she would pick differently if she was given another chance. Neo would also tag along whether invited or not, most likely seeing it as the quickest way to satiate her bloodlust. _That may not be the_ best _reason ever, but it does make for a good ally, I suppose._

With us three, we aren't really suited to fight Grimm. Pyrrha, while certainly better than your average student our age at taking down Grimm, has trained her whole life to fight other people. It would be a waste to have her fight Grimm. Neo also is better at fighting people, and I doubt that killing Grimm does it for her. Her Semblance and smaller aura pool also make long engagements with hordes of Grimm just not her forte. And me, well I'm not really all that suited to fight Grimm or people, so it wouldn't really matter either way. _Fate probably works just as well on either of them, I suppose._

So that leaves me with a three-man team—I guess it would be Team NAP, which is both the best and worst name ever—that specializes in fighting people over Grimm, and probably would be really good at it, too. The obvious choice would be for us to go after Salem and her operations. Given what I had done for Ironwood, he would likely give in if we wanted to help on that front, but it may not be the best idea ever. Fighting against Salem brings back the chance of fighting Grimm as well, which wouldn't be an issue but would serve to tire us out before any real fights begin. More importantly, it would do the opposite of laying low, and would further earn Salem's ire. If she isn't already out to get me, then actively going after her forces would put me at the top of the list.

But now that I think about it, there is one other group of people I can go after that I might just get away with. Cinder, after all, was not the only one to attack Beacon; she had an army of foot soldiers to attack with, led by someone whose skill with a sword proved too much for half of Team RWBY. To take down someone like that, we would need someone with extraordinary dueling capabilities…or maybe two, plus an idiot with a shield, a lot of aura, and a predisposition towards luck.

"The White Fang." I answered firmly. Tai cocked his head to the side slightly, begging for an elaboration. "That's what's next. Adam Taurus and the White Fang. They were just being used by Cinder, so taking them out wouldn't be enough to enrage Salem, but it would make the world better."

"And you think _you_ can topple a terrorist organization?" Tai asked with an amused chuckle. "As I recall, you didn't do very much heavy lifting in your last hair-brained scheme."

"Alone? Probably not. But with Pyrrha and Neo?" I shrugged. "Eh. _Maybe._ "

"That's a good enough answer for me." Taiyang commented with a roll of his eyes. "I might even know a much more dangerous blonde than you who probably would be eager for a second chance at this Taurus fellow…"

* * *

Present

(Pyrrha's POV)

Given the gravity of what we had talked about, I knew that I should have been in a bad mood, or at the very least, I should have been deep in thought. I couldn't help myself, though, as I rounded the corner of the house with a smile plastered on my face. A weight was lifted off my shoulders, and for the first time since an arrow pierced my heel, I had an easiness about myself again. I didn't have doubts or reservations, and I wasn't crippled by my own heart; I finally had figured out what I was going to do, and it felt _good_.

So good, in fact, that I approached the make-shift sparring area I had found Jaune in earlier with a big smile on my face. So good, in fact, that as I approached everyone, I forgot that the last time the saw me, I announced that Jaune and I were heading off somewhere private to talk. So good, in fact, that I never even realized what all the looks I was getting meant.

Soon enough, everyone went back to what they had been doing. There was a spar between Ren and Blake going, and everyone was standing (or sitting) around watching it.

I walked over to lean against the wall of the house (in the shade, thankfully) and turned my attention to the fight, though not watching too intensely. After a few moments, Weiss subtly made her way over until she was leaned against the wall next to me.

"I have something to tell you, Pyrrha, that I think you should hear from me." Weiss mumbled softly, never taking her eyes off the fight. Her voice was low enough that no one could have heard it, and without moving her head, no one would tell from glancing towards us that she wanted to talk.

"Okay?" I answered in much the same manner, though uncertain why Weiss wanted what privacy she could get.

"While you were gone… Jaune and I…" She started, struggling to find her words. "We went on a date."

I turned to look at Weiss, shocked more than anything else, and she nervously kept talking.

"It was just lunch, don't worry! Jaune didn't even know who he was going to lunch with. I had Yang _persuade_ him into a blind date."

"Wait, _you_ set it up?" I asked surprised. I certainly would have believed Jaune tried to ask Weiss out—seeing as that had happened on many occasions at Beacon—but the other way around?

"Yeah. I just wanted you to know that it kinda went well, but it didn't work out, so you don't need to worry about it. I just felt it was better if you heard it from me."

"Why?"

"Well, I thought it might look bad if someone else told you. I was worried you might think I was hiding it, or was out to get Jaune from you…"

"No, why do it in the first place?" I turned to look at Weiss, and she finally broke her act and met my gaze.

"When I got here, I didn't recognize who he was anymore. There was a large part of him that I had never seen before, and…my curiosity got the better of me." She admitted, before turning back to watch the fight. "I think I started to see the same Jaune that you did."

"What do you mean?" I asked with a soft chuckle, more amused at how hard this was for Weiss than I was upset.

"He wasn't trying to compensate for his weakness anymore. There was just this silent confidence that he never had, and it completely changed how I looked at him. Suddenly, he went from a worthless idiot with nothing to offer to someone who was fine being _seen_ as a worthless idiot. That sort of change means that somewhere along the way, he found something that no one else knew he had.

"Looking back, it's obvious that the change was because he was working on saving you, but at the time it was so subtle and mysterious that I couldn't resist."

I wasn't sure how to take all of that, so I sat there processing what Weiss had said for a few minutes. Weiss didn't seem to mind, as the longer we sat silently, the better her cover appeared.

"What do you think of what he did, then?" I asked eventually.

"I was raised by a very pragmatic and ruthless businessman, who never cared for common morals or decency if it interfered with his profits, so what Jaune did isn't exactly the biggest betrayal that I've ever seen. That being said, I don't appreciate that he pretended to have a two-day bender and blamed in on our date, although that's more my fault for falling for it so easily."

"That wasn't exactly a coherent answer, Weiss."

"I know. I don't exactly _have_ a coherent answer. I'm furious, but I'm not really that mad with him. It's the others he should worry about."

As Blake defeated Ren in a very close spar, I looked around at everyone gathered, and a thought crossed my mind. It is possible that choosing Jaune means leaving behind anyone who isn't willing to forgive him, and as I looked around the group, I realized that I would have to be okay with losing any—or all—of these people. The thought horrified me.

But…not enough to make me doubt my choice for even a second. The horror of losing all my friends' trust is nothing compared to the ineptitude that I've lived with ever since I came back. If the choice was presented to me, it would be an easy one to make.

I scanned over the group again with this in mind. Only this time, I noticed something, or rather, or noticed the _lack_ of something. There were no bad jokes being made, no awkward hugs being forced, and no stories of Yang and Ruby's upbringing being shared.

" _Weiss_ …" I grumbled. "Where's Taiyang?"

"W-what?"

"Where's Ruby's dad?" I repeated.

"Oh, I thought he went inside."

I gave Weiss a flat look, and she refused to meet my gaze, choosing instead to look at the ground on the other side.

" _Weiss…_ are you… _stalling_?"

She didn't answer.

"Are you running interference on me for Taiyang?"

"Yes." She answered sheepishly.


	21. Suffer It All

**Author's Note 2: In addition to uploading this chapter, I have updated all previous chapters to 'remaster' them. This just meant cutting out any unnecessary updates in the Author's Notes and adding POV indicators for all chapters.**

 **IF YOU GOT 22 NOTIFICATIONS OR EMAILS THAT THIS STORY WAS UPDATED, SORRY! THIS IS THE ONE CHAPTER THAT IS NEW!**

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _ **Technically**_ **, this is the last chapter, but only kind of. See the author's note at the end for more info.**

* * *

Future

(Jaune's POV)

 _P-Money: We're heading to order up my armor now. Still on for the rendezvous later?_

 _Me: Yes. Plans still the same._

It made me beyond nervous to be back in Mistral so soon, considering the whole reason we were sent to Patch was to get away from Mistral. Neo had organized a new safehouse and we only moved under the cover of night, but it was hard to shake that feeling that you were making a mistake.

Maybe that's just the creepiness of this dungeon getting to me, though. I don't know _how_ Neo found a dungeon in the middle of Mistral, but I would say we walked down enough steps to be four or five stories below ground; on top of that, we were already in an abandoned district, so the chances of being discovered were almost nothing. That didn't mean a lot when your enemy was Salem, however.

I followed Neo using my scroll's light until we made it to the bottom, where two thugs were posted outside of a door. Through a passage way I could see torchlight and crates stacked, meaning that Neo also used this place for storage or planning operations. But given that this is where she hid her most precious resources, I would doubt she would use this place for any capacity that could get it compromised.

The thugs unlocked the door and let us through, closing it behind us. In front of us was the prisoner we were looking for: Mercury Black. His legs were gone and attached to metal poles that came out of the ground, locking him into place. Around Mercury's waist was a sheet of metal that surrounded him in all directions and anchored into the walls to his sides and behind him. Because of this, his arms were allowed to be free, seeing as he had no way to reach around the sheet to detach his legs from their prison.

As the door opened, Mercury shot up from where he had been leaned over, sleeping against the metal plate. His face soured when he saw us, but there was very little intensity behind it. Simply put, there wasn't much fight left in him.

"What do you want?" He asked bitterly. He had no shirt, exposing the shell of the man he had once been; no doubt that Neo's men had only fed him the bare minimum to keep him alive, and his strength had rotted away.

"To set you free. Isn't it your lucky day?" I mocked.

Mercury never responded, and instead mustered all his strength into a glare at me. He couldn't hold it for very long, though.

"Look, _one of us_ does kinda feel bad for locking you away in a dungeon instead of turning you over to proper authorities." I cut Neo a glance, and she smiled innocently. "So, if you help that one of us, I'm certain that they'll let you go."

Mercury tried to summon what strength and anger he had left, but it fizzled out before it could amount to anything serious. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to take me somewhere, and once you do, you're free to do with your life what you want. I'll even give you your legs back."

"And what makes you think I know where this place is?"

"You've taken me there before. Neo only knows part of the way, and she says that you know the other part."

Mercury's eyebrows raised, though only slightly in his current state.

"You think I'm going to lead your forces _there_? There isn't anything you can do to me that would make me more scared of you than _her_."

"No, no, no. I'm not leading an _army_ there. Just three people. I want to have a civilized discussion."

Whatever strength Mercury went into a laugh, though it soon sputtered into coughing as he braced himself with his arms on the metal sheet.

"Do you _want_ to die?" He asked, before quickly changing pace. "You know what, I'll do it. It'll be the last thing I do, but at least I'll get to see you die first."

I turned to Neo. "Looks like we're all set. What could go wrong?"

* * *

Present

(Pyrrha's POV)

As soon as I turned the corner, I knew something was wrong. Nora had _that_ grin on her face, the one that strikes fear into the heart of anyone who has ever seen it before. Some ancient texts spoke of it being a sign of the apocalypse, and they may not be far off.

" _Nora_ …" I let out cautiously. "What did you do?"

"Hello Pyrrha!" Nora practically sung as she looked up from the scroll that she had been watching with _that_ grin.

" _Nora…_ " I let out again. " _What_ did you do?"

"Why, what _ever_ do you mean, Pyrrha?" Nora called back overly-playful.

"The grin, Nora. You have that stupid Nora™ grin that tells me you did _something_."

"Maaaaybe."

" _Nora…_ "

A bang came from the closed door that Nora had been sitting next to, followed by voices. " _Hey! Hey, is that someone out there?! Let us out, please!_ "

" _Nora…_ Why is the door begging me?" Nora shrugged nonchalantly and returned to watching her scroll, even going so far as to put one of the two earbuds in. " _Nora…_ Who did you lock inside that room?"

" _Is that Pyrrha? PYRRHA LET US OUT!_ "

"No one."

"That sounds like…Jaune?"

" _Nora, you know we could bust out the window!_ "

"Yeah, but you won't, or else you'll have Taiyang to answer to! Plus, Yang wouldn't like you breaking her window either!" Nora yelled back so suddenly that I jumped back.

" _Yang wouldn't like us being in her room._ "

"All the more reason you two should get it over with!" Nora yelled back, silencing the dissenting voice from behind the door.

"Nora, who did you lock in there with Jaune, and why?"

"You know that thing on TV where when two people are angry at each other, their friends lock them in a room until they sort things out?" Nora asked.

"Yeah…?"

"Yeah." Nora echoed with her smug grin returning. "I even have a camera feed so I KNOW IF THEY'RE TRYING TO TRICK ME!"

" _Damnit._ "

"H-how long have you had them in there?"

"An hour, at least. Gosh, I kinda lost track of the time; they're taking _forever_ …"

I put my face in my hands as a long sigh escaped my lips. " _Nora_ … first of all, you can't just take a silly trope from TV and expect it to work everything out magically. Second, that usually works because they two people are _lovers_ , Nora, and when they're locked in a room together, they make up quick because they want to…" I trailed off, shaking the thoughts from my mind. "You know what, I don't care. Just make sure you water and feed them occasionally."

I turned to walk away, hoping to clear my mind of any shenanigans or Nora-ness, but didn't make it far.

" _No, god, no! Pyrrha please! Don't leave us to her!_ "

That wasn't the voice that made me stop, though.

"It's been three days, Pyrrha."

"Huh?" I asked as I turned back around.

"We've all been here three days, and Jaune has pretty much talked with everybody at least once, except for Ren. They've been avoiding this for three days." Nora's grin was gone, and replacing it was a tight frown. "If they can't man up, then I'll be enough of a man for the both of them!"

"Somehow, Nora, I believe that."

"You better! If _this_ doesn't work, then I have to resort to MUCH MORE PAINFUL STRATEGIES!"

" _You're insane!_ "

"Nora, look, why don't we let them out-"

"I don't like this plan."

"-and talk to them separately. I'm sure you can talk Ren into just about anything, so let me talk to Jaune and see if we can't find a better method than whatever this is." Nora bit her lip and gave me a sideways glance, before relenting.

" _Fiiiine._ " Nora hit a button on her scroll, and I heard a lock pop from the door next to me. I don't even want to know _how_ Nora did that. "YOU GUYS CAN COME OUT NOW!"

Instantly, the door burst open as Jaune shot out and down the hall, shouting something along the lines of "FREEDOM" and "GET THAT PSYCHO AWAY FROM ME." He had made it most the way down the hall before I reached out with my semblance and picked him up by his metal chest plate, then took my time to walk down and catch up with him.

"Not so fast, Jaune. I got you out, so now you owe me. Let's take a walk." I teased as I finally sat him down. His eyes darted back and forth between me and Nora, and he quickly chose me.

We wondered around the exterior of the house for a little while, both aimlessly wondering but also looking for a quiet place to talk. Eventually, Jaune walked over and sat down against the wall of the house, using it both to lean against and for its shade. I moved to sit down close to him.

I looked down to my hand, and realized that it rested on the ground only a few inches away from his, and I began to move it toward his before catching myself. _We've never actually addressed '_ us' _and the last time anything happened, it ended with me slamming him into a wall_. Was it okay to go ahead and make a move on him now, or had something changed? I put my hand on the ground subtly, hoping he hadn't seen, and proceeded to stare at his hand while I fiercely debated what I should do.

After a few moments, a small chuckle from Jaune broke my concentration. I looked up and instantly realized that he _had_ seen it and he was chuckling at me. Once my focus was on him, he tried to hide his smirk, and instantly I was torn between the urge to crawl under a rock in embarrassment and urge to wipe that stupid smirk off of his face.

I settled, of course, on reaching out to take his hand (now conveniently held open for me) and look away from his gaze as I slowly leaned over until I rested against his side, with my head on his shoulder.

"So what's the deal with Ren?" I asked after a long pause. The last time we did this, I ended up regretting ruining it by asking Jaune a question, so that factored in to how long I savored the moment before bringing this us. In the end, though, it was too important to leave unsaid, though.

"He's…different from everyone else." Jaune answered slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"With everyone else, there wasn't any one thing I could do to earn their forgiveness; it was just let them say what they needed to and accept whatever punishment they thought would help, and hope that time makes things better.

"With Yang, I gave her my best fight and let her decide how far to take it, and that seemed to help. Nora… I just kinda made breakfast for and said I was sorry." Jaune chuckled softly, and I used his distraction to scooch closer to him. "Weiss was interesting, because I thought she would be angrier, but instead she just made me apologized and…watched me weirdly."

"And Ruby?" I prompted.

"Ruby's the hardest to talk to now, because she's had the most time to think about things, so whenever she looks at me, the disappointment in her eyes hurts even more for it. But then when she looks from me to you, all of that anger just melts from her face and she looks like she feels guilty for even thinking I did anything wrong. I think she gets it now.

"And of course, I don't think I need to explain to _you_ why I did what I did." Jaune half-teased as he squeezed my hand tighter.

"I don't know. It _would_ be nice to hear that you did it for any other reason than to screw with Fate…"

Jaune squeezed my hand again but this time leaned his head to rest against the top of mine. It was a small, simple gesture, but damnit if I didn't stop breathing for two seconds because of it.

"What, I haven't told you how important you are to me as a friend yet?" Jaune asked. My heart sank to my feet as I _completely_ missed the sarcastic tone in his voice, and it shattered into pieces as it hit the ground when he took his hand out of mine.

It was soon remedied as that same armed wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me tighter into his side. I would be lying if I said that I put any effort whatsoever into resisting it, too.

"That's not funny." I wined as I settled in to my new (favorite) position. "I almost thought you were serious, too." Jaune found it funny.

"So, what's different about Ren?" I redirected our conversation back to where we were.

"With everyone else, there wasn't something I could do to earn their forgiveness. Ren…well, Ren gave me one requirement that I have to meet before he'll agree to reform Team JNPR."

"What is it?"

"I have to tell everyone the full story of what I did, why I did it, and then…"

"And then…?"

"And then I have to apologize for it."

"That's…not _terrible_ , is it?"

"N-no, but it's…I don't know, some part of me can't bring myself to do that yet."

"I-if it helps, don't worry about it hurting me. I know that you wouldn't mean for it to. If I'm what's holding you back, then it'll be okay. I promise."

Jaune never answered, but he pulled me just a little closer to him, and I reached around his waist with my arms to hold on to him. For the longest time, we just sat there, and I can't say that I could complain.

In the end, it was a buzz from his scroll that finally changed things.

"That probably means that they're ready."

"Who?"

"Nora and Ren. That probably means that they've gathered everyone for my Official Apology." Before I could ask a question, he continued. "Ren and I were trapped in that room for an hour. We actually _did_ talk, at least enough to agree that once we got out we would go through with this. Nora just kept us in there for no reason."

Jaune moved to stand up, and before I could stop myself I groaned my displeasure. Begrudgingly, I got up to follow him.

* * *

We walked into the living room of the house, and true to their word, Ren and Nora had everyone assembled and waiting for us. There was one empty seat near the center of the area they had circled around with their seats. Yang, Taiyang, and Ruby respectively sat on the couch, with Weiss standing behind it but leaning over to be close enough to whisper to Ruby if needed. Nora sat in a wooden chair pulled into the room from the kitchen, and Ren stood behind it much how Weiss stood behind Ruby. In the back corner looking out the window was Neo, who appeared utterly disinterested, or would if she wasn't rigorously watching the crowd out of the corner of her eye.

"So, I'm sure Ren told you all that I was going to apologize, but I'd like to start with an admission instead.

"I'm sure that you've all come up with all sorts of theories on why I did this. Was this my ignoring my friends to protect them or because I didn't trust them, was I a good guy willing to sacrifice anything or was I a reckless fool who didn't care about the consequences? Well, the real reason I did it all is because I'm selfish.

"I wanted Pyrrha back for selfish reasons, although I'm sure no one here would have disagreed with them. That's how it started, and if that was where it ended, I'm sure this would be a lot easier, but things aren't that simple. Once I actually had that opportunity in front of me, I realized that _I_ could be the one to save her, not _us_. That's where the real selfishness began. I thought that I could save Pyrrha. If I'm being perfectly honest, I thought that the only way that I could ever be as heroic as any of you was if I traded my life to save Pyrrha's; my most selfish thought was that if I died to bring her back, then I'll have traded me for her and made the world a better place in the process. If I'm being honest, I never really thought that my plans would work, and that's my final piece of selfishness: I thought this would get me killed, and I didn't care. I was taking the chance that sacrificing myself would bring her back, despite the great odds against it. In all reality, I was on a suicidal mission with no real chance of success. The fact that it all worked out in the end shouldn't take away from that."

Jaune paused to take a deep breath and steady himself before he looked around the room again. He had been avoiding eye contact as much as he could until now.

"Looking back at this now, that all sounds so horrible, and it is. I was so selfish that I was going to get myself killed without any of you ever knowing. I know that it was wrong. But that isn't the worst thing I did, as bad as that is.

"You see, the worst thing is that I'm not sorry for any of it."

Jaune looked around the room, his steely gaze and his jaw both set confidently.

"I'm not sorry about going behind your backs. I'm not sorry that I shot Ruby. I'm not sorry that I broke your trust. I would do it all again without changing a thing if I had to. The only thing more selfish that what I already have done would be do try to change things to make me look better, so I won't. I won't lie about being sorry, and I won't lie about what I did. If you're looking for a reason to hate me, then that's it right there.

"But whatever you do…" Jaune looked straight at Ren. "Don't think for a moment that you can just ignore it, that we could make it all better by apologizing for it. Don't cheapen what I did, both the good and the bad. If you're fine with what I did, then okay. But if you're not, then don't pretend to be. Don't feel like you have to get over it for the sake of the team, or our friendship; I don't deserve that."

Jaune and Ren never broke eye contact, having an intense staring contest that couldn't be interrupted by all of the strange looks Jaune was getting from the room. Whispers from just about everyone floated around the room, but Jaune and Ren never rose to them, locked in their silent battle.

"So, what do we do from here?" Ruby called out, breaking Jaune's focus for Ren.

"You can do whatever you like. _I_ won't beg for your forgiveness or apologize for what I did, but that doesn't mean I won't work to make it up. I'm going to go after the White Fang and Adam Taurus and hope that's enough to at least put this all behind us. You can come with or you can not; it's up to you."

Everyone looked around at each other, unsure of what to do or say. Everyone except for Ren, who still hadn't taken his eyes off of Jaune.

"What do you say, Neo? Wanna start a gang war with terrorists?" Jaune called out. Neo perked up nearly instantly and walked slowly over to where Jaune was standing, twirling her umbrella with an evil grin on her face. "Figures." Jaune laughed softly before turning his attention back to the group.

Nora and I both stood up and almost started to walk towards Jaune, but Nora stopped when Ren never moved.

"R-Renny?" Nora almost choked out.

Ren looked up at Nora, then slowly shifted his eyes back to Jaune one last time before shaking his head and looking away, making it clear that he was not going. Nora looked confused and heart-broken as she shifted her eyes back and forth from Jaune to Ren, utterly lost. I could almost hear her heart shatter as she made her choice; she bowed her head and sat down next to Ren. _It's too much to ask her to leave him._

Now all attention was left on me, the last person standing who hadn't made their choice. I made eye contact with Ren, whose eyes were distant and unreadable, though I would like to think I saw him struggling internally. I shifted my eyes to Nora, who looked up at me with wide eyes but couldn't hold my gaze, and turned away as tears threatened to wash over her.

 _It's too much to ask me to leave Jaune, though._

As I turned away from my friends and walked to Jaune, I wondered what I would have chosen if things were different. If I was still that same girl who chose to leave Jaune and follow my Destiny, would I have picked Jaune again here, or would I have stayed with Ren and Nora? Was I picking Jaune solely because of his ties to Fate, or was I being selfish and picking Jaune to be with him?

Does it even matter?

"If it helps, this isn't a final goodbye or anything. This is more of a 'see you later' than anything. We'll go track down the White Fang, and when we're done…" Jaune trailed off as Nora looked up to make eye contact with him, fighting a losing battle with her tears. "When we're done, we'll try this 'Team' thing again."

* * *

 **Author's Note 1: There was no actual reason for me to split the author's note into before and after the chapter, other than it's more dramatic that way. Gotta love some cheap drama.**

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 **Author's Note 2: For this story, this is the final** **chapter** **. However, next week there will be one more upload that might as well be the actual final chapter. It will be the** **epilogue** **, and will take place in the Future designation. As there have only been 2 Future sections so far in this story, it may not be difficult to guess where this takes place, but I think that there will be some fun surprises that make for a good ending. So yeah, this is the last chapter, but not really.**

 **I don't have any plans to make a sequel to this story the same way that I didn't have any plans to make a second chapter to this story. I could see how a second story would happen and what it would entail, but that would take us well into the start of Vol 5, and by then I expect enough to have changed with RWBY that this story either makes no sense or just diverges too far from the RWBY-verse.**

 **If this "final" chapter felt underwhelming to you, then don't worry, because it did to me too, and I'm writing the Epilogue basically because I feel it ends much better than this chapter could, so there's that.**

* * *

 **You guys are lucky that I powered into an upload schedule and finished this story just in time, because if I had let this go past September 6** **th** **, then it never would have gotten finished.** _ **All**_ **of my time would have been sacrificed unto the alter of** _ **Destiny 2**_ **, and then one month after that I also would have** _ **Middle Earth: Shadow of War**_ **to distract me!**

 **It's been fun, and until next week, Tschüss, Tschau, und Auf Wiedersehen! (bye, bye, and goodbye in German).**

* * *

No, I'm not German. I speak it terribly, at like a Kindergarten level or worse.


	22. Epilogue -- The Future Tense

**Author's Note: Alright, here we go. The Unofficial Chapter 22, formally known as the Epilogue. It is shorter than most chapters, but not significantly so. It's been a fun ride, and Vol. 5 is almost here guys!**

* * *

 **Author's Note 2: So about it being shorter... I wanted to hit that 100k mark, so I might have gone back an added some content here to get us there. Lolz.**

* * *

Future

(Ren's POV)

"Alright, and the last spar for today will be training-swords only. Let's see… How about Ren versus…" Weiss trailed off, looking over the group assembled before her. I stepped forward without any fuss, despite not being very practiced at sword combat. That wasn't really the point of the exercise; it was more about adaptability and what you can learn about fighting than the fight itself. And that is something I am always interested in trying.

"I swear, if she picks me _one more time_ for her stupid little 'lesson about fighting' drill, I will not be held responsible for what I do to her." Ruby grumbled, sass overflowing from her lips. She did somewhat have a point, as Weiss had singled her out for this same drill the past three days. At first, Ruby was fine with it, excited even; something about her uncle teaching her swordplay and how that guaranteed her victory. Until Weiss put her up against Yang, who to our surprise was also somewhat trained in basic swordplay by their uncle. While Ruby's skill was more technically sound, Yang had more than a few surprises for Ruby, not to mention raw power over her. Weiss had a field day after that fight, getting to pick over every little thing Ruby did wrong, from her stance to her mentality. On day 2, Weiss picked Ruby again, but this time to face herself, and Ruby did not stand a chance. While Weiss' normal form was truly fencing, it certainly translated to this exercise, leaving her with plenty to pick apart from poor Ruby, both during and after the fight. Yesterday, Weiss pit Ruby against Nora, and by this point Ruby was verbally annoyed at both the fact that Weiss was singling her out, and that she kept losing. And yes, Nora somehow used a weapon other than a hammer, which is something I have never seen her even think about doing. I suspect that Weiss struck a deal with her somehow.

"…And let's have Ren fight Ruby!" Weiss called out, feigning cheerfulness. Ruby didn't buy it, instead sending her a glare that could have turned Qrow sober.

"Can we just skip the fighting part and get to the part where you tell me that I didn't 'read my opponent properly' and I 'lack the focus to be putting my life on the line' and I 'need to work on better preparing for my opponents'? 'Cuz that seems to be the whole reason you're doing this!" Ruby objected, finally reaching a tipping point.

" _I'm doing this…_ " Weiss shot back, "…because I need to know that you understand it before we go back out there, Ruby."

"Yes, I get it, Weiss, but you're going way overboard with this whole thing! Yang, tell her!"

When Yang didn't immediately reply, Ruby turned on her too.

" _YANG_! You can't be serious!" Ruby cried out.

"Actually, I don't think it hurts to be cautious…" Yang replied sheepishly, exchanging a look with Weiss.

" _Cautious_? Since when did _you_ learn that word?" Ruby cut back. "Guys, don't think I don't know what this is about, okay? I get it, I got hurt once and you don't want it to happen again. But this is just ridiculous!"

"Is it? Is it ridiculous to drill it in you until you never underestimate an opponent again? Is it ridiculous to make sure you never get lazy in a fight again?!" Weiss answered back angrily, though she did a good job of keeping it in check.

"That doesn't count! I didn't lose to Jaune! He just cheated!"

" _Cheated_? Ruby, there's no such thing as 'cheating' in a fight." Yang countered.

"There is too! If…uh…If I…" Ruby fumbled her words, looking for an example. " _NORA_! If we're fighting, and I offer you a mound of pancakes and then stab you while you're eating them, isn't _that_ cheating!?"

"Wow, that's the best example you could come up with?" Yang taunted back under her breath.

"Y-You would do that!? YOU MONSTER!" Nora yelled back, missing the hypothetical part of the situation. I held a hand out to my side to hold Nora back, and sure enough Nora impacted my arm on her way over to Ruby.

"Ruby, there's no such thing as cheating in a fight. You just underestimated Jaune and thought you would win, and when it looked like you did you stopped fighting." Weiss explained calmly, trying to settle things down.

"No, it didn't _look_ like I won. I _did_ win. He surrendered and everything!"

"Okay, so you won the fight, and then your prisoner got up and shot you when you weren't paying attention. If that's the case, we may need even _more_ training to make up for it!" Yang countered, with just a hint of smugness in her voice.

"W-wha? No nononono. I meant that… what I meant is…" Ruby trailed off, as no new defenses came to her mind. "You guys suck."

"That sounds like we won." Yang added, her smugness growing.

"Look, Ruby, Jaune attacked you when you weren't expecting it and you still won the fight; no one is taking that away from you. But with the emotions and the adrenaline running, you lost your focus and let him take a chance that you never should have let happen." Weiss started to explain.

"But that's not fair!" Ruby tried to interject.

"No, but neither was Jaune attacking you in the first place. No one is blaming you for getting distracted by those; we just want to make sure you remember never to let your guard down again. Is that so bad?"

"I-It's not that it's bad. I'm just sick of being the only one being punished."

"You're not being _punished_ for being shot, Ruby…" Yang replied.

"Actually, I have to agree with Ruby on that one." I interjected, causing the group to go quiet.

" _What_?" Weiss stammered.

"I think that it does look like Ruby is getting punished. I don't see you singling out anyone else for special training, Weiss."

"That's because no one else demonstrated a need for it, _Ren._ "

"Really? As I see it, you are giving Ruby extra work and special training because Jaune took advantage of her blind spot and used it to play her for his own end. Is that accurate?"

"I…well, yes, if you want to put it like that, it is still accurate." Weiss admitted.

"Then I think you are singling Ruby out when the rest of us all are just as guilty of the same thing." I asserted.

"What do you mean, exactly?" Weiss asked.

"It wasn't just Ruby that underestimated Jaune, and it wasn't just Ruby that Jaune took advantage of. We _all_ fell for it, Weiss. He made us all the fool with that whole 'drinking his problems away' mess. If I recall, _you_ fell for that routine particularly hard, seeing as he manipulated you into helping his master plan, Weiss." Weiss stammered, but couldn't respond. "As far as I can see it, each and every one of us here underestimated Jaune, meaning that we all need just as much work as Ruby. And since you are _only_ working Ruby harder, I must assume it's for some reason other than that.

"And the only thing about Ruby that is different than the group that I can think of, is being shot."

The group went silent, aside from Ruby walking over to stand behind me and stick her tongue out at Weiss playfully.

"Okay, fine. Maybe I'm being unfair to Ruby, but maybe that's just because her problem is easier to fix. I know how to drill someone to respect their opponents and take nothing for granted; it may take some work, but that's something easy that I _can_ fix." Weiss replied after thinking things over. "But what you said isn't so easy to fix. We're not talking about a combat stance or a form correction here; we're talking about not letting our friends deceive us into helping them spiral out of control. _How do we learn to stop_ that?"

"I don't know, Weiss. I've asked myself that question for a while now. I've been hoping that some distance between Jaune and I would help that, that maybe I couldn't learn from it until he was gone. That's why I couldn't ever come to terms with reforming Team JNPR so quickly. I just needed him to leave so I could figure out how on Remnant do I stop this from happening again."

"What have you figured out so far?" Yang asked quietly.

"I don't know. Nothing makes any sense to me. I should have seen that something was wrong when the whole drinking thing started that first time, and we _did_ notice something was wrong, but we thought that it sorted itself out. Jaune didn't go drinking again and we even got some closure with Pyrrha's family, not to mention a new mentor to keep an eye on Jaune. Should I have confronted him then, when it seemed like he had learned from that night and moved on?

"I feel like that could have helped, that I could have stopped everything before it started, or at least been there to keep him from getting in too deep. Is that what we're supposed to learn here? Confront your friends at the earliest possible opportunity? Trust but verify?"

The group was silent, my unfinished thoughts hanging in the air. And hang they would, as that was as far as I had ever gotten, the conclusion still evading me. From the silence around me, no one else made any progress either.

"I don't know, guys, but one thing I do know: I can't face him again until I have the answer."

* * *

Future

(Pyrrha's POV)

"Do you mind telling me..." Neo called out, clearly agitated as she dove between the legs of a Beowolf, reappearing after she hopped on its back from behind. With a deep stab into its spine with her umbrella, the creature slumped over and Neo hopped off. "... _why_ you thought the three of us were equipped to march through the heart of the Grimmlands to find the Queen of the Grimm's fortress?"

"Hey, you didn't have to come, Neo. I was expecting this to just be Pyrrha and me anyways..." Jaune replied from underneath an Ursa as he held it off with his shield.

"Can we talk about how stupid _that_ plan sounds now?" I asked as I threw my spear into the Ursa's head, relieving Jaune of his struggle. "If Neo's is complaining about how hard it is now, just think how bad this would be without her..."

"I don't know..." Jaune countered as he countered a Beowolf's attack by severing its head. "If she wasn't here, I wouldn't be so distracted by all this chit-chat..."

Neo nevered verbally responded, but the sound of shattering glass followed by Jaune yelling out in surprise filled the air. "Oh, it looks like you were too distracted there. What'd you do, walk into a wall of glass?"

"You know..." Jaune called back as he started picking himself off the ground. "...for the mysterious assassin who doesn't talk, you sure won't shut up."

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a flash and turned my head in time to react to the wave of fire heading at me. I dove under the blast, landing on my shield, and used it to pivot on the ground and get my feet out in front of me as I popped back into a standing position. I wanted to move straight into a firing position but stopped myself as I remembered that I wasn't using Milo and instead had a simple spear and shield Neo acquired during our trip to Mistral. I settled for a braced position behind my shield, with the spear poking out over the top.

I froze up when I saw where the fire had come from. Walking towards me, clad in a longer crimson dress than I had first seen her in, was Cinder Fall. Smoke billowed off of her single long red sleeve as our eyes locked.

"What was that?" Jaune called out. " _Oh._ Neo?"

Neo hummed in response, confirming that she both saw the threat and was prepared to let Jaune lead an attack, as she unsheathed the blade of her umbrella.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked as he walked towards Cinder, shield held out in front of him, his eyes locked onto Cinder over the top of it. I didn't answer; my mind was too busy showing me flashbacks of my last fight with Cinder, and I was too busy trying to fight to maintain my focus.

" _Pyrrha_?" Jaune's hand reached out to rest on my shoulder as he walked by me.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." I whispered in response as some of the tension released. This wasn't the first time I had seen her since our battle, but this was the first time she was actively attacking me, so my nerves were getting the best of me. Being outmatched is not something I have much experience with.

As Jaune and Cinder closed the gap between them, Cinder summoned her two swords and Jaune sheathed his shield, replacing it back at his side. I crept around to Jaune's right as Neo circled the other way.

Jaune approached Cinder with his left arm folded and held parallel to the ground and his sword resting atop it, pointing towards Cinder. With a large swipe of her sleeve, Cinder sent a diagonal wave of fire at Jaune, who sliced through it, matching the angle of the blast with his blade. Jaune brought his sword back up to block his side immediately, catching Cinder's blind swipe and twisting to avoid her follow-up stab. With his hands already at head-level and his blade pointed down, Jaune parlayed his dodge into an overhead chop with his sword, forcing Cinder to retreat or lose the arm she attempted a stab with.

Cinder sought to step back in and take advantage of Jaune's slow recovery, but I leaped in and forced her back with a stab from her side that she had to step back further to avoid. Before I could recover, Cinder caught me in the side with a fireball that knocked me down, but didn't burn through my aura as Neo's glass wall formed to interrupt most of the continued stream until she could close the distance.

Having lost the element of surprise to protect me, Neo's attack was dodged by Cinder. Her counter-attack was ducked rather easily by Neo as the two fell into a rhythm of quick, low-risk attacks that were easily avoided, the two agile opponents feeling each other out. Neo broke off the engagement, backflipping away to create space and distracting Cinder by unfolding her umbrella, bluffing that something would shoot out of it. Jaune took the opportunity to charge in, catching Cinder in the side with his shoulder. Cinder began to fall but shot out a stream of fire backwards to regain her balance.

Not wasting his chance, Jaune swiped in an upwards diagonal with Cinder being forced to clumsily block the attack with her blades. Jaune feigned bringing his blade back to slice the same path in the opposite direction but instead tucked it close into his side to lunge with it, in a move that looked a lot like Weiss' combat style. Cinder fell for the feint and was caught out of position with her blades ready to parry and punish the feigned swipe. Jaune's lunge landed on her side, slicing into but her aura.

With a grimace, Cinder clamped her arm down to her side, pinning Jaune's blade as her aura flared to protect her. With a spin Cinder ripped Jaune's weapon away from him and prepared to use her spin to strike Jaune, but Jaune had already recovered and drawn his shield. As Cinder brought her weapons back around her, she was greeted with the flat of Jaune's shield as he stepped into her attack and knocked her backwards.

Clearly aggravated, Cinder launched flames in a circle around her, forcing everyone back. With a grimace, she sheathed her weapons and reached down to pick up Jaune's sword. She tested it out, feeling the weight of the blade and swinging it around, before slinging it towards Jaune. I moved to jump in front of Jaune and block the blow, but he reached out and held me back with his free arm, his shield arm hanging at his side.

Panic shot through me as I realized that he had no intentions of avoiding the blow, but those fears subsided as the blade lodged into the dirt in front of Jaune's feet.

"Is that how you welcome guests way out here?" Jaune mocked. His voice sounded glib, but his eyes were locked hard on Cinder, malice present in them.

"What are you doing here?" Cinder growled back, her voice still as raspy as the last time I heard her, after I had been resurrected here.

"I'm here to talk to your _master_." Jaune emphasized the last word, earning Cinder's ire as he knew it would.

"It seems you are in luck." Cinder responded, though clearly unhappy about it. Everything about her posture screamed that she wanted to keep fighting, but now that Salem had been brought up, she wasn't about to break orders. " _For now._ "

"How did you know she would do that?" I whispered at Jaune's side. This had all been a glorified spar for Jaune and Cinder, who both looked like they wanted nothing more than to make it a real fight. Despite our numbers advantage, I don't think I would bet our lives on our odds against Cinder; I had only ever fought her after she defeated Ozpin, so I have no clue what she could be like at full power. On top of that, she's had months to train with her new powers. Even with the blow Jaune just landed, I would be willing to bet that she could handle all three of us if she wanted to.

"If she wanted us dead, she wouldn't have shot a big fireball at us." He responded. "Neo, would _you_ shoot a fireball if you wanted me dead?"

"No. You won't see me coming." She responded.

"I don't like her future tense there." I added.

"She would have gone with an ambush, or some arrows while we fought the Grimm." Jaune concluded, still not taking his eyes off of Cinder.

"He's right. You should be familiar with my skill with a bow..." Cinder taunted with a malicious smile.

"I'm sorry, weren't you going to take us to Salem, or did you want to get turned mute by a 15 year old girl first?"

* * *

"I must say, you are extremely bold, Mr. Arc." Salem hummed with an amused tone, though with a tension only a fool would miss. It simultaneously put me at ease and put me on edge. "After you double-crossed me, you decided to show me that you know how to reach me by showing up at my doorstep, all to stand before me and tell me why I should _not_ take revenge on you."

"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds foolish."

"Foolish? _Foolish?_ I don't think there is a word for how unwise that is." Salem scolded back.

I squirmed in my seat, not wanting to take my eyes off of Salem but also terrified that she might make eye contact with me. While I had to have known that she was capable of getting angry, I never thought it would be at Jaune and, by extension, me. Seated at the opposite end of Salem's long table from Salem herself was the boy in question, and from my seat next to him I could turn to see either of them depending on who spoke. Jaune, for what it is worth, didn't shrivel up at Salem's ire, though he had the good sense to be on edge.

"And yet, it worked." Jaune countered confidently.

"It did not work." Salem corrected venomously. "I had no intention of attacking you in direct response for you actions prior to this meeting. Your plan to change my mind had no chance of success as there was nothing to change. _However_ , you tipped your hand and showed me that you are capable of locating my fortress, and that changes things entirely."

"Does it, though?" Jaune countered all too flippantly.

"Your arrogance annoys me, boy." Salem threatened, wiping the grin off Jaune's face. "I would kill you where you stand if your intuition didn't intrigue me. Indeed, coming here still changes nothing, as if you had any intention of using my location to plot an attack you wouldn't have come here to warn me ahead of time. I'm more interested in _why_ you are so confident."

"Oh, that's simple, really. I figured out my semblance, and I think you have, too." Jaune offered smugly. "I think you recognize how potent it can be, and that's why you didn't want Watts doing the prisoner exchange; you thought he would be too curious—and get too close. In that, you were not wrong."

"I rarely am." Salem answered ominously as she studied Jaune in a new light, a grin spreading over her face. Her answer also indirectly gave Jaune's theory—and I stress _theory_ , because that's truly what he bet our lives on—credibility. "And how would you know so much about your semblance?"

"Ironically, it was Dr. Watts who put the idea in my head, and it fit too well to be denied."

In response, Salem laughed, finding something funny that neither of us could discern. Her sudden shift in demeanor put me even further on edge.

"The depths of your ignorance amaze me, boy. What even is it that you think your semblance is? _Luck?_ " Salem goaded over Jaune, chuckling all the while.

"No." Jaune responded calmly. "Fate."

Salem's laughs died down, though her bemused demeanor remained.

"Ah, so you figured that much out, at least. Consider me impressed." Salem commented, instantly confirming much of what Jaune had struggled with for so long. It was hard for me to believe that she accepted it so casually, so it must be all the more difficult for Jaune, but to his credit, he still hasn't wavered. "Tell me, _why_ do you have this semblance?"

"I think the universe hates me." Jaune answered with a joke. Or, maybe a half-joke. "And I think my semblance is potent enough that _you_ did not even want to provoke it if you could avoid it. That's why you were willing to give me Pyrrha; because going against me meant risking it against Fate. And if you could use me against Atlas? All the better."

With his cards lain on the table, Salem took her time examining him.

"Experience." Salem uttered to our confusion. "You are correct that it was only because of your semblance that I went along with your plot. Experience has taught me exactly how to deal with your kind."

"My _kind_?" Jaune muttered, surprised. " _Experience_?"

"Your semblance is hereditary." Salem announced with her grin having returned. "There was once a time when the Arcs were one of the most dangerous forces in all of Remnant, though given the sheer amount of work that had to be done to make you prevail, I suspect your semblance may be the most potent I've ever seen."

"There was _what?_ " Jaune asked, hung up on that first part.

" _Luck's Chosen_ is what they called it, the hereditary semblance of the Arc clan. They never showed too much interest in ruling, which is a shame, as no one could have stopped them." Salem stopped to give a small chuckle. "They kept a tight watch over _all_ of their family members, since one runaway child could spawn a rival clan just as powerful. For a long time, no moves could be made in the world without the Arcs having a say in the matter. Legend has it that they guarded the world from great evil, and when they ' _disappeared_ ' the moon shattered without their protection. Legend is not always strictly accurate, but there usually is _some_ basis to it."

Jaune was stunned into silence, and Salem reveled in his confusion and shock, taking part in that great pastime of all super-villains: monologuing.

"The Arcs decided how the world around them would work. If an Arc wanted something to happen, it would take an extraordinary, organized effort to prevent it from happening. Fate arranged for them to get what they wanted, and this made them a nuisance to anyone with any inkling of power. Kingdoms rose and fell, but none survived if they crossed the Arc Clan. "

"What happened to them, then?" Jaune asked.

" _I_ happened to them." Salem answered fiercely. "I have only three scars, three separate instances where I was made to bleed. One of them came at Ozpin's hand. One, a combined effort of three Maidens. And the third came at the hands of a singular Arc."

"W-which one?"

"The one Ozpin built a statue to in front of his Academy. The one who used the very blade you have now."

Jaune reached down to feel Crocea Mors at his side, never taking his eyes off of Salem.

"It was the only Arc weapon I never acquired; all the others are locked away, deep beneath our feet. Ozpin and I raced each other for years to find your blade, and when he stopped searching for it, I assumed he had found it. It would appear that he just gave up."

"What happened to my family? What did you do to them?" Jaune asked, finally having come to his senses enough to ask real questions.

"I did what I did to all of those who wounded me: I weakened them until I could strike back. The last time that all four Maidens were at the same location at the same time, nearly all of them died, though one of them did fight for me. Since then, no two Maidens have met in person, allowing me to strike at them when they are alone. I don't think I need to explain how successful I can be at that.

"Ozpin's example is the most recent and took me the longest, but that takes nothing away from how I crippled him. So when an Arc wounded me, it set them all in my way. _So I killed them all_."

A chill ran down my spine, and a glance at Jaune revealed that he was visibly unnerved.

" _H-How?_ "

"How else? I wielded one of their own against them."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The Arc Clan, when unified, was the most powerful force on Remnant, and their typical hands-off approach left them without a significant number of enemies to rally against them. Their greatest strength was their strong family hierarchy; they kept all their members in line and gave more power to those members of the family with the greatest battle acumen. A team of four average Arcs was virtually invincible in their day, and the only thing that could defeat an Arc was believed to be another Arc. That was why they kept such a tight thumb on all their members, because they were the only ones who could.

"This was how I brought them down. There was a young girl, Juniper Arc, with a rebel spirit and a Napoleon Complex; the black sheep of the family. She had the fight and the willpower to lead the Arc clan, but not the physical strength to back it up, and grew up resenting those around her for being better than her. When I got to her, I didn't even need to convince her to turn on her family; all I had to do was help her grow stronger. _That_ is one of my greatest talents, after all…" Salem trailed off to let her meaning sink in. "Of course, the Arcs would never let a blood-relative leave the family, so I had to fake her death, but once we did, it was an easy matter of giving power to a girl more than willing to wield it."

"You turned her into a Maiden…" Jaune realized.

"To start with, but even that wouldn't be enough. One Maiden Arc versus over a hundred battle-sharpened, Fate-wielding Arc warriors? It would be a slaughter. Even with the power of a Maiden and a Relic, and with my assistance, that would not be enough. We needed more Arcs."

"You…what?"

"I never even had to suggest it. Before you knew it, Juniper had spent decades training herself, and her new children. She had 14 and we trained them all with the best powers I could bestow to them.

"Once the youngest was about your age, I tested if it would work. To fake Juniper's death, I pretended to have killed her before going into hiding, meaning the Arcs would hunted all across Remnant to take out the first person to assassinate an Arc. They were in a panic, after all; no one had _ever_ killed an Arc before. Sure, lesser Arcs had been overwhelmed by Grimm and wars before, but never outright assassinated by a singular entity. Once word slipped that I _might_ have resurfaced, four Arc Clan leaders came to 'investigate'."

"You set a trap for them?"

"And we slaughtered them easily. Without those four leaders, the Arcs were a lot less coordinated and much easier to pick off. They writhed like a headless chicken, doing themselves no favors. Some Arcs received false orders for suicidal missions, where my lesser agents were waiting to confirm their deaths; many were given conflicting or confusing orders to keep them away from the others while we picked them off. There were only 28 remaining Arcs when they finally decided that they should all stay in one place regardless of what orders they received. They were _beyond_ scared—no one had ever seen one Arc be murdered, let alone most of them."

"How did you get the rest of them, then? Surely 28 Arcs were more than your 15 could handle."

"14 battle-hardened Arcs, each commanding an army of Grimm the likes of which were unprecedented, and a 15th Maiden Arc, aided by whatever powers I could give all of them, with myself marching at their side? We simply walked up to their door and kicked it in." Her response was very matter-of-fact, but with a hint of pride behind it. She was gloating now, flexing her strength in front of us very deliberately. _But why?_

"And that worked?" I asked, finally breaking my silence.

"Until I met Jaune, yes. Every Arc was accounted for, yet somehow, he is here."

"How did you account for every Arc?" Jaune asked quietly.

"With an Arc under my influence, mapping out the whole Arc family tree was a simple matter. From there, we only needed to identify the bodies. Do not take me for someone who leaves matters unfinished; we were certain that every Arc was accounted for. For those who did not have signature weapons, we took other trophies to ensure the kill."

"Then how do you explain Jaune?" I asked.

Salem paused, a frown on her face as she thought things over. For the first time, I saw uncertainty in Salem's eyes, even if it was only a small amount. This is the woman who knew the existential crisis I was having and exactly how to play into it even before I was resurrected, and yet Jaune's very existence confounds and defies her.

 _All the more reason to stay with him_.

"The Arc patriarchs instilled strict rules on their sons, that there were to be no casual lays among them. Their semblance was too powerful for them to sire bastard children, but that can be the only way I can think of that the lineage would be preserved. A single mother might give her child its father's surname, thus leading down the path to an alternate Arc line." Salem answered slowly, still thinking it out as she went.

"Then how do I have Crocea Mors?" Jaune asked more confidently. "If I have Arc blood, an Arc semblance, and an Arc weapon, surely I can't have come from a one night stand somewhere."

"He's right. Maybe your Arc wasn't the only rebel in the family. Perhaps one of the boys had a secret family hidden from the others." I added. "And if his weapon is the same one that injured you, it wasn't a minor Arc, either."

"You're suggesting that Julius Arc, the Head of the Arc Clan, went behind his family's back to sire another child?" Salem asked incredulously, though with intrigue.

"Perhaps he just sensed something coming and wanted a back-up heir." Jaune responded.

"It doesn't matter how; what does matter is why." Salem countered, her voice having found its footing as it filled the silence with a newfound vigor. " _Why_ did the bloodline survive? An Arc has a secret child just as I wipe out all the Arcs? That's too much of a coincidence."

"Maybe you're just stuck with me." Jaune taunted.

"Indeed, it would appear that we are at an impasse. The true question now is what happens from here on."

The room went still, nothing daring to interrupt. Salem's eyes set themselves on Jaune's, issuing a challenge that Jaune answered with his own stare.

"As it stands, even with your semblance, you are no match for me, let alone all of my forces. However, Fate has intervened to protect your line once already, and I do not wish to provoke more direct measures on Fate's behalf. What happens next depends on you."

"How do you mean?"

"From here on in, you are removed from my sights. If you go live your life elsewhere and avoid interfering with my business, then no assassins will show up for you and no Grimm will target you. You could live the life of a Huntsman protecting villages from minor Grimm and have a long life. You could choose to play peacekeeper between the nations, freely hunting down threats that have no connection to me…."

Salem stood up, and as she did so the doors that we had first entered through opened up. Jaune and I both stood up, not needing any more of a hint. Salem's voice called out to us before we made it to the door, however.

"Or…You could continue to oppose me, to fight Ozpin's war with your newfound semblance, and we will learn just how much Fate can save you from."

* * *

"So, what do you think of the new armor?" I asked as I rounded the corner and spotted Jaune. He was lost in thought yet again, but turned to see me. We stopped in Mistral to pick up the new battle armor and modified weapons that my father had ordered be made for me from the same smith who forged my last set. This time, however, I specified a few changes, but only to the aesthetics. Instead of a redish-brown color on the breastplate, I had it changed to white. I kept my red sash at my hip and the bronze trim.

It was obvious what the change was intended to do. Jaune had used the bronze metal from my old set to reinforce his, leaving his armor and weapon white with a bronze trim; my new change also left me in white with a bronze trim. Even the red sash tied us together, as Jaune had taken it upon himself to wear my old sash from his hip (which broke my heart once I realized what it was.) It was a symbolic gesture that I was quite proud of; Jaune lifted part of my color scheme, so I returned the favor.

After all, I'm dedicated to following him already. I might as well look the part. _And making sure the two of us match as a couple had_ nothing _to do with it, whatsoever..._

"Uh, I like it. My color scheme looks good on you." Jaune teased slightly, though he did take his time to look up and down at my new set. I rolled my eyes, but can't say that I didn't like the attention.

"You do look good on me..." I mumbled back under my breath, hoping he didn't hear it, but also secretly displeased he didn't.

"You've been quiet." I stated quietly as I walked up to Jaune's side. The whole trip back to Mistral from Salem's lair he barely said a word, normally staring off into the distance like he is now. The view from the walls around the city is breathtaking, and was always a favorite spot off mine when I needed to think.

"I've been thinking." Jaune mumbled in response.

"I know; I can hear the gears spinning frantically every time you stare off into the distance." I teased. "Have you figured anything out?"

"I think I have." He answered, slipping his hand into mine without taking his eyes off of the view ahead. "I think I know how we fight Salem."

"O-oh?"

"I've been thinking about how Salem killed my family, about her strategy. How she raised an army against them."

"What about it?" I asked.

"We need to do just what she did, Pyrrha. We need to raise an army."

"So how do we do that?" I asked.

Jaune reached into his pocket and grabbed a small object, and handed it to me instead of answering my question. It was a small, velvet box with a hinge in the middle. My fingers fiddled with it until it opened, and upon seeing its contents I nearly dropped the box.

It was a ring. A _proposal_ ring.

"We need to _raise_ an army together, Pyrrha. It'll take more than an Arc Clan to take her down. It'll take an Arc Family. And I can only do that with your help."

* * *

 **Author's Closing Thoughts: Well, this has been fun for me. This story started out as two completely separate one-shots with no overlap whatsoever, plus an idea for a story that somewhat overlapped with one of those one-shots. There also is the theme of Luck/Fate vs. Jaune, which is not something I came up with originally but was inspired to do my own take on by** Not this time, Fate **.**

 **The original idea for this story was that the first chapter would stand alone as a one-shot, which it does. I enjoy playing out scenes in my head about hard confrontations and drama (because of course I do), and for a couple days I couldn't stop thinking about Jaune taking Pyrrha's death too hard. The first thing to come from that was a simple one-shot about Jaune getting drunk, and as I sat down to write it I had the idea to have him drink with Pyrrha's father without ever knowing it. The original idea was to drag Qrow into it to because, well, Qrow is awesome, but that would have added some light humor where I wanted a heart-twisting one-shot.**

 **The over-arcing story I had been thinking about at the same time did work its way into this story. My original thoughts were about Jaune agreeing to help Salem & Co. either attack Beacon again or take out Ironwood and his fleet. After that action had been performed, Jaune would be captured after an unlucky break where he ran into his team, who discovered he had betrayed them. The ensuing battle would have been hard for Nora especially, as Ren would have to take away her hammer so she didn't kill Jaune in her rage once he was subdued. From there, Jaune would be held in interrogation and Pyrrha would literally show up at Atlas' doorstep with no explanation or knowledge of Jaune's actions, and Jaune would be too ashamed to admit what he had done and why he had done it, leading to Team _NPR interrogating Jaune in a very emotionally-charged manner. I probably would have thrown Qrow in there too, just because he's awesome. And Irondaddy too!**

 **The third aspect that worked its way into this story was a theory I wrote and submitted to a Ruby Theories blog on tumblr. Just after the end of Vol. 3, I started to see a lot of people upset that Pyrrha would even go fight Cinder, as surely that is not a decision anyone would make. It did appear like an irrational decision, because, I argued, it was based on Pyrrha's faith in her Destiny rather than her rational thoughts. In that sense, Pyrrha's faith was immense, right up until Cinder cheated-I mean Cinder won. In those moments, Pyrrha's entire world collapsed in on itself, and her final words ("Do you believe in Destiny?") weren't a F- YOU to Cinder, but rather a plea for help; she couldn't trust her own perception anymore, and she was so lost that she just needed someone else to help her understand, no matter who it was. That Cinder said that she did believe in Destiny would only serve to confuse Pyrrha and lead her down the path of concluding that Destiny had ordained Cinder's cause as the right one. At the time, I believed that meant if Pyrrha came back, she would serve Salem faithfully even if she couldn't honestly say she thought it was right; it was just Destined.**

 **Can you see that I like darker tones? Other than 2 of my favorite 3 characters dying in it, I _loved_ Vol. 3. (Pyrrha was #1, Roman was #2)**

 **So I wrote the one-shot to get it out of my head, then I wrote a second-chapter to make it a two-shot because I found away to make it even more heart-breaking. But by the end of writing that second chapter, I was already thinking about how my over-arcing story idea could be modified to fit this story, and once I started thinking about that there was no way this story didn't happen. Once I realized that I could work both Jaune's aversion/hatred/helplessness towards Fate and Pyrrha's subservience to Fate, I was really glad I did.**

 **Oh, and all those scenes with Jaune taunting Qrow during interrogation with double-meanings was just icing on the cake. It's so fun when you don't have to actually stick to a consistent pacing or setting and can bounce around. It's almost like all those TV cop shows where they interrogate someone and the screen cuts to show what really happened, except those visual cuts are a lot clumsier in writing.**

* * *

 **Dammit, I'm like a few thousand words short of hitting 100k. If sometime in the near future, a second epilogue is posted, know that the entire reason behind it was me wanting to reach 100k so more people can find the story in the search filters... :D**

* * *

 **Lolz I hit 100,000k after I went back and added both of the first two scenes after the above 2 notes were written. I left them up just to give you a glimpse into my maddening style of writing Author's Notes whenever I work on chapters, meaning that multiple notes from different stages of the process get written. Sometimes I leave them, just to mess with you guys a little. I kinda enjoy doing that, plus I feel like its my schtick at this point.**


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